


Clash of Clans

by welcometotherealworld



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Fake AH Crew, M/M, Mention of drinking, Mention of drug-use, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-07
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-28 13:15:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 50,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2733956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welcometotherealworld/pseuds/welcometotherealworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ray is in Achievement Hunter, one of the most important crews of Los Santos. He's also dating the sweetest man on Earth. What would happen if he was threatened to lose both?</p><p>Will mostly involve Ray and Ryan being cute, Gavin doing stupid stuff, Michael yelling at him, Jack trying to calm them down and Geoff calling everyone 'assholes'. AH are the main characters, the others are mostly background characters, some more important than others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Which Gavin Ruins Everything and Ryan Is a Cutie

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicating this work to tumblr user fakeahcomics (bilvy) because I think their work is amazing (and they made amazing playlists for the Fake AH Crew AU that really helped me write this!). This work is also slightly inspired by a fic I found on friendlydischarge's tumblr called 'Feeding the Strays'. It's a really great Raywood fic (if you haven't read it yet, go take a look, it's amazing). ***The fic is now on ao3!!!***
> 
> I will be posting every sunday (at least I'll try to).
> 
> This being said: please enjoy!

“How’s your teacher guy?”

They had been informed by Caleb earlier that day about a considerably huge drug-deal going down in a construction site downtown. Geoff had jumped on the case and they were now getting the fuck out of the city, black vans running up their asses. Jack was on his way to pick up Geoff as Ray hopped in Michael’s car with Gavin. They were supposed to meet at the top of Mount Josiah and they could’ve been there thirty minutes ago if Gavin hadn’t fucking blown up a convenient store for fun, indicating quite blatantly their position.

Ray let out a surprised laugh at Michael’s question as he reloaded his gun and fired at the van behind them.

“Are you serious right now?”

“If we don’t talk about something, I’m gonna fucking kill Gavin.”

“But Micoo, I didn’t think they would find us back so quickly!”

“Yeah, well, you’re a fucking idiot Gavin. You don’t fucking BLOW UP SHIT just because **_you_** **_thought_** the job went too well. That’s a good thing Gavin. When the job goes well, **it’s a fucking good thing** and you fucking ruined it. Again.”

“I’m sorry Michael…”

 _“Charlie 1, are they still on you?”_ Geoff’s voice asked in their earpiece.

“Yes. Yes, they are. Permission to fucking obliterate Charlie 2?”

_“Permission granted. But wait ‘til you get here.”_

“Thank you sir.”

Michael’s grip on the wheel tightened as the lad pulled up in a small alleyway.

“Gavin, if you wanna blow shit up, now’s the time.”

The Brit smiled widely and popped his head outside the window, throwing out sticky bombs. By the time the bad guys’ vans squeezed themselves in the alley, they went up in flames and Ray sighed in relief, his SMG resting on his lap.

“And now, let’s get the fuck outta here,” Michael mumbled under his breath, going back onto the main road, heading straight north.

The drive went smoothly, Ray looking often behind them to make sure they weren’t followed. Gavin wouldn’t stop talking, claiming he had saved the day with his explosives and that everyone should be thankful and _you won’t kill me when we get to the top right boi?_ Michael ignored the shit out of him, mostly to scare the Brit but also because he was getting annoyed. Ray stayed put in the backseat, enjoying the view as they were going up the mountain.

 

Geoff threw his arms in the air and jumped down the rock he was sitting on when he finally saw them. As he and Jack came closer to the car, Michael got out, went straight to Gavin’s door and pulled him out of the car, pushing the Brit on the ground. The young man started rolling in the dirt, hysterically yelling he was rolling all the way down the mountain.

Geoff looked at Gavin with a blank expression before turning to Michael and Ray. “Where are the drugs?”

“I got ‘em right here.”

Ray threw a brown duffel bag at Geoff’s feet. The man kneeled down and took a look inside as Gavin was whining next to the car, still collapsed on the ground.

“Holy shit. We can blaze for days boys!”

“420 all day, every day,” Ray laughed.

“We should sell the drugs I took and keep this for us,” Geoff decided, getting up on his feet.

“I know a guy I could sell them too,” Gavin’s voice trailed off in the distance.

“Then it’s settled. Jack, take this bag in the chopper, Gavin will give the other one to his guy, we split the money and the rest of the drugs and we get ourselves a sweet, sweet week-end of weed and booze. What do ya say boys?”

“Sounds good to me,” Michael said.

“Me too!” Gavin sprung up, almost knocking his head on Michael’s side mirror.

“Pretty sure everybody’s in,” Ray figured.

“For now, how about we go celebrate at Meg’s?” Geoff proposed.

“Okay. I’m gonna get rid of the chopper and take the drugs to the warehouse, I’ll meet you back there,” Jack said, waiting for Geoff’s approval before leaving.

“Looks like I’m driving all your asses down there,” Michael sighed.

Everyone got in the lad’s car, Gavin up front with his _boi_ while Geoff and Ray shared the backseat. A few minutes later, they were parked outside of _The_ _Know_ , a bar where Gavin’s girlfriend happened to be working. The Brit got out of the car as soon as it stopped and disappeared inside before any of the others could move.

“Somebody’s happy to see his girlfriend.”

“When isn’t that stupid asshole happy?”

“Good point, Geoff. Good point.”

They slowly made their way inside, Gavin already up at the counter, giving a quick peck to the red-haired behind it.

“Hey guys! It’s been awhile since I’ve seen all of…woops, spoke too fast. Where’s Jack?” Meg asked, already preparing some shots for the boys.

“He had stuff to do, but he’ll be here soon.”

It didn’t take long to the bearded-man to show up, but it was long enough for the boys to have had a few shots. Ray was the only one sober and he listened to his friends with a weak smile on his lips. He didn’t like going out in bars. It was loud, and everyone kept getting dumber as the hours passed by. As of tonight, Geoff, Jack and Michael were discussing loudly about sports team and bets (when the hell did they start liking football?) while Gavin wouldn’t stop flirting with Meg even though she was busy as hell. Ray’s eyes quickly fell to his hands and he was starting to think about getting home when Michael turned to him.

“Hey, you’re nursing that iced tea,” he joked, nudging him in the elbow.

“It’s diet coke Michael, come on.”

“Ahh, it all looks the same… So. You didn’t answer my question.”

“What question?” Ray raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his drink.

“How’s your teacher guy?”

Ray shook his head, hiding his smile in his drink.

“You guys have been seeing each other for a while, no?” Michael continued.

“You could say that.”

“So are you guys…together?”

“I guess so,” Ray shrugged.

“You guess so. How can you _guess_ _so_? Are you guys official or not, that’s what I’m asking. Are you his bitch?”

“I like him, and he likes me. That’s all there is.”

“So he _is_ your boyfriend.”

Ray let out a soft laugh, defeated. “What’s it to you anyway?”

“You’re my friend. I wanna know what’s up with you. You planning on introducing him to us soon?”

“Are you out of your mind? So that Gavin can accidently blow him up? No thank you.”

“He’ll leave the blowjobs to you,” Michael winked.

“Well in that case…” Ray laughed but his smile quickly faded. “I…I don’t wanna involve him in _this_ , you know.”

“Gavin didn’t.”

Ray’s gaze slid to Meg. She didn’t know anything about the crew, she only thought they were all coworkers, that Gavin was filming documentaries. It was ridiculous how easily she believed him but it was best for her to stay as far away from the truth as possible. Geoff and Jack both told their wives and they had an emergency plan if something was to go wrong. Griffon didn’t mind about the crew, as long as Geoff was safe and that the paycheck was worth it, but Caiti wasn’t into it. She and Jack never talked about it, and they were fine with that.

“It would’ve been easier if you would’ve dated someone from the field,” Michael grinned, taking a sip of his drink.

The Lad was newlywed to the beautiful and deadly Lindsay Jones, an assassin that Geoff would hire from time to time. That’s how Lindsay and Michael met in the first place, on a joined mission. They hit it off from the start, and the spark never died. They were the cutest couple of criminals in town. In short, Lindsay was pretty okay with the whole crew thing.

“Yeah, ‘bet it’s easy for you. Did you guys shoplift on your honeymoon, just for the sake of doing something illegal?”

“Oh, sweet Ray, we did better than shoplifting. But that’s not the matter here.”

“What is?”

“Me wanting to meet your Sugar Daddy. Seriously how old is he again?”

“I should be going,” Ray ignored him, slowly getting up of his seat.

“Yeah, you should, you little secretive bitch…”

“Are you leaving Ray?” Gavin asked, drunk out of his ass.

“Yeah, I’m tired. See you guys tomorrow.”

“Cheers mate.”

“You did a great job tonight buddy, as usual,” Geoff patted him on the shoulder.

“Thanks. ‘Night everyone.”

Ray waved goodbye at the crew and Meg, and gave a quick brofist to Michael before leaving. The night was cold and Ray hurried to the closest bus stop. He sat at the end of the vehicle and took out his phone to text Ryan.

_‘Ray – 1:32AM : hey can I swing by?’_

It was pretty late, Ryan had probably gone to bed hours ago but Ray really wanted to see him. A few minutes passed by, no response, and Ray put his phone back in his pocket, slightly disappointed. He leaned his head on the bus’ window and closed his eyes. His pants buzzed a second later.

_‘Ryan – 1:39AM : Sure, do you want coffee?’_

Ray smiled and texted him back, feeling all bubbly and warm inside. No one could make him feel the way Ryan did. Sure the guy was eight years older than him and he was way too passionate about computers, but Ray thought he was the funniest and sweetest man he knew. His low voice often made snarky comments that would make Ray laugh uncontrollably and his timid smile and deep blue eyes showed only kindness and affection for the young man… Ray never meant to actually fall in love with the guy, but Ryan sure made it difficult as hell not too.

When Ray finally showed up to Ryan’s apartment, it was past 2AM. He knocked slightly on the door but no one answered. He sent another text _(yo open up bitch)_ and finally heard footsteps. The door opened on a sleepy Ryan, phone in hand, and he immediately pulled Ray in for a long hug.

“Were you sleeping?” the younger man asked.

“I might have passed out on the couch, waiting for you.”

“You’re weak.”

Ryan laughed softly. “Yes, I know.” He gave a small kiss on Ray’s cheek before letting him free. He went back inside, followed closely by Ray, and made his way to the kitchen. “I know you said no coffee, but–”

“Dude, I won’t sleep for a week if I drink coffee.”

“That’s why I made us hot chocolate instead.” He turned around, two cups filled with marshmallows and chocolate.

Ray grabbed Ryan’s face. “You’re the best, babe.”

“Yes, I know.”

Ray kissed him and took the cup his _babe_ was handing him. They sat down in the living room. The TV was open on some 24-hour news channel that was covering the explosion of a convenient store.

“That’s sick,” Ryan commented. “The guys that did this just drove off afterwards. Police don’t have a clue why it happened. It’s almost like they picked a random store to blow up for fun.”

“That is really sick,” Ray mumbled, hiding into his hot chocolate cup.

Ryan stretched his arm to get to the controller and closed the TV before turning back to Ray. He let out a small laugh as he saw the steam in Ray’s glasses.

“I hate glasses,” the younger man sighed.

“It’s cute.”

“It’s stupid. Now I can’t see shit.”

“Careful not to burn yourself.”

“It’s fine, it’s at the perfect temperature. How’d you get them to stay warm?”

“I made ‘em extra hot so they wouldn’t be cold when you’d show up.”

“You really are the best.”

Ryan shrugged with a smile, that cute smile Ray couldn’t stand. _So are you guys…together?_ Michael’s question came back in his mind and the butterflies instantly left his stomach. He lowered his cup, his eyes locked on his hands.

“Ryan…can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“I…I was wondering if… Are we exclusive?”

Ryan’s eyebrows rose as his cheeks turned slightly pink. “Uh…I don’t know, do you want us to?”

“I…I wouldn’t mind. I mean…it’s totally fine if you’re not _that_ interested in me, I don’t wanna rush anything…”

“Not interested in you? Ray, you’re the best part of my day ever since I’ve met you, of course I’m interested.”

“Okay. Then it settled,” Ray smiled. “You’re my bitch and I’m yours.”

“And together, we’re the greatest bitches of Los Santos,” Ryan added, holding up his cup to Ray’s.

Ray’s smile widened and he and Ryan held a toast with their hot chocolate to their official love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, please let me know if you see any mistakes or if you want me to add tags  
> See you next sunday for a new chapter!


	2. In Which Everyone Wins (except Gavin) and Rowan Atkinson Is Ray’s Lover

The warehouse was in fact a small apartment the crew rented in East Los Santos. The place had a pretty good security system and Geoff lived close by if some idiot tried to rob the place. And luckily, no one ever bothered to (having to deal with a tired and pissed-off Geoff was probably the scariest thing on Earth). The apartment had two bedrooms, a nice bathroom, a spacious living room and a modern kitchen. The place was actually better than Ray’s, and Geoff told him many times he could live there but Ray loved being downtown (closer to the fun and guns, as he said). Nonetheless, he would often spend the night there if he was too tired or high to get his ass back home. Jack had himself spent a few days at the warehouse when he and Caiti were fighting about his field of work but most of the time, the guys only used the place to kill time before a mission or to hide their gear. As of today, they were playing video games on the biggest flat screen ever and they were waiting for their special guest to arrive while everyone was being fucking owned by Ray at Mario Kart.

“Oh, bullocks! I drove off the road…”

“Now you know why I’m always the one driving, motherfuckeeeer!” Michael shouted as he finished the race 2nd, for the fourth time in a row. “Of course, Ray finished the race two decades ago and he never drives, but whatever.”

“Unless it’s brown. Then I’m down.”

“Brownman in da house!”

“JESUS! Who’s throwing shells at me?”

“Guess you’re getting owned by NPCs now Gavin, ‘cause we all finished the race,” Geoff laughed.

Ray liked afternoons like this. They weren’t just coworkers after all, they were also friends. It was nice to just relax and play some video games together. They had fun at work too, but it was a lot more dangerous than getting hit by red shells in Mario Kart. They never really got injured during the heists (at least, nothing serious). There were so close calls sometimes, but the crew was organized and everyone in the team had a specific job, which helped to avoid fuck ups.

Geoff was the handler. He would find jobs for the crew and made sure everyone had an equal share. He was also the one providing them with weapons and vehicles. Geoff had started the crew and was actually the one who brought them all together. Everyone looked up to him and respected him. The man always swore on his honor to make sure everyone got out alive of their numerous heists and he never failed to his promise. He was Alpha 1, and the perfect leader for this crew of idiots.

Jack was the pilot. Helicopters, planes, jets, trains, trucks, boats…you name it, the man would be able to pick you up and give you a ride anywhere. Kind-hearted and caring, he was also the unofficial nurse of the team. If someone got hurt, Jack would be all over them, covering their wounds with bandages and what not. He was a good friend, always ready to listen to the others’ problems and give them advice. And he had a sweet beard.

Michael was the warrior. The man was a beast and couldn’t be stopped when triggered. The pain didn’t bother him; he always put the job first. If a teammate needed help, he was the first one there to cover their ass and help them get away. Sure, he had a temper and could be a bitch sometimes, but he was loyal and wasn’t going to leave anyone behind. He was also pretty good when it came to interrogation. And torture.

Gavin was the scout. His innocent looks made him the perfect spy, even though he wasn’t the most skilled in the group. He knew a lot of people and often helped Geoff find missions. With his connections, they had no problem selling drugs and buying weapons. He got in trouble a lot though, always drawing attention to himself when he was supposed to blend in, but the crew didn’t care. His joyful spirit helped keeping everyone’s mood at their best (even though the man could be pretty annoying at times).

And finally, there was Ray, the sniper. Everyone was pretty good with weapons, but no one could be as skilled as him when it came to long distance shots. Ray was precise, deadly. He loved being above and seeing everything move around him. He was everyone’s eyes, warning his teammates about upcoming enemies, waiting for the right time to strike. Once Geoff gave him the signal, the enemies didn’t have a chance. In a matter of seconds, they all had Ray’s bullets piercing through their skulls.

Three knocks on the door brought Ray back to reality and Jack got up to let their guest in.

“Dan the man!” Ray stood up, happily greeting him. “So glad you accepted to take Gavin’s place in the crew man.”

Dan was Gavin’s ex-partner. Back in the day, they modified guns together and sold them for a living. Dan was the brains and Gavin, the salesman. Geoff had initially invited both of them to join the crew, but Dan didn’t like being on the field. He was okay with playing with guns, but didn’t like it so much when they were pointing towards him, so he let Gavin go and continued his job alone. He stayed in contact with him and the crew though, always willing to help them out. The others often joked about preferring Dan to Gavin, usually obtaining an offended squeal from their co-worker.

“Sorry to let you down Ray, but I like working in my lab better,” Dan replied with a small smile.

“Nerd,” Gavin mumbled.

“I’ve got prototypes.” Dan pulled up the huge suitcases he had with him and put them on the kitchen’s table as everyone (except Gavin) gathered around him. “I’ve got a few beauties in this one if you guys want to take a look. Ray, I think you might enjoy this little darling.” Dan handed him the biggest suitcase.

As everyone looked at the guns Dan brought, Ray opened the suitcase that was given to him. A beautiful sniper rifle rested there. It was pink.

“Ah, sweet!” Ray said, holding up the gun and looking at Gavin’s game through the rifle scope.

“I made it super resistant. Deadly, shoots like a charm and easy to reload.”

“It looks awesome, thanks Dan!”

“Always a pleasure, Ray.”

“What d’you get for me?” Gavin asked, finally giving attention to his ex-partner’s work.

“Forgot yours at home, sorry.”

“You bloody traitor.”

Dan handed him a small machine-gun. “How about a thank you?”

“It’s for me?”

“He’s kinda handing it to you, stupid,” Michael groaned.

“Aw, thanks Dan! That’s top! I love machine guns!”

“This shotgun looks amazing,” Jack commented, examining from every angle the weapon he held.

“I’ve got special shells for that one. For extra damage.”

“How much is it for the whole bunch?” Geoff asked.

“Normally, it’d be pretty pricey but I’ll leave you the lot for… seventy-five thousand. Including ammo, of course.”

“Sounds fair. The money will be transferred tonight.”

“Perfect.” Dan smiled, satisfied.

They talked for a while about the guns and Dan’s modifications. Geoff offered him a drink and the meeting slowly shifted into an intense Mario Kart tournament. After about two hours of ass-kicking and Gavin screaming, Dan got up; he had other appointments.

“Have fun with your new toys. And Ray, I want feedback about my princess. Soon.”

“Sure thing man.”

Dan gently waved at everyone and he looked so awkward and sweet, Ray couldn’t believe he was a gun smuggler. As he left, the crew started a new Mario Kart tournament, Ray leaving his controller to Jack.

“Why d’you leave so early yesterday?” the man asked as he chose Luigi.

“He went to see his new _boyfriend_ ,” Michael replied with a grin.

“Oh…is that the guy you met a few weeks ago? When we were at the golf club?”

“The one and only.”

Ray had stumbled upon Ryan at the Los Santos Golf Club Charity Fair. The place was filled with rich-ass people and the AH crew couldn’t think of a better party to crash. As Geoff and Jack were trying to get into the big boss’ office to steal everything, Michael, Ray and Gavin were in the reception room, getting their hands on anything they could from ladies’ purses and old men’s pockets. Ray was doing quite well until he saw the most gorgeous man he had ever seen. He was with a date but obviously didn’t like it and looked rather bored at that point. Ray decided he would do anything to save that poor soul from this stupid, pretentious party and they ended up in a McDonald’s at 3AM, eating cheeseburgers. It was fantastic. Ray learned afterwards that Ryan almost never wore a tuxedo but he didn’t mind; the man was still attractive as fuck in his cute grey shirts (damn those rolled-up sleeves).

“I didn’t know things were getting serious.”

“Yeah, that’s ‘cause Ray’s a little shit and he never tells us anything.”

“Hey, everyone can have their privacy,” Geoff stepped in, eyes locked on the screen.

“Thank you Geoff.”

“Can’t we at least know his name?”

“Rowan Atkinson.”

Gavin laughed loudly as Michael was about to punch Ray in the face.

“His name’s Ryan,” the young man finally said. “He’s a teacher and he made me hot chocolate even if I woke him up in the middle of the night.”

The crew went silent for a while and Ray started to feel his heart racing. Had he said something wrong or were they too caught up in the ga–

“Jesus Christ Gavin, you drive like an asshole!” Geoff suddenly shouted. “Hot chocolate Ray? That seems like a keeper.”

“What does he teach?” Jack asked.

“Uh…I don’t know actually. We never talk about work.”

“So you won’t need to tell him about the crew?”

“I hope not. Gavin’s doing pretty good without telling Meg about it.”

“Yes, I am,” the Brit mumbled, focused on the game. “Oh, by the way, if she asks how’s our new shoot going, it’s about crocodiles and it’s going splendid.”

“Don’t you feel bad lying to her like that?” Jack wondered.

“Nah. I’m protecting her. It’s for the best. Plus, she thinks I’m awesome.”

“Doesn’t she wanna see the documentaries?”

“I told her they’re boring as balls and we watch other stuff instead.”

“Like _your_ balls?”

“Nice Ray,” Gavin laughed.

“Thanks.”

“I WON!” Michael yelled. “Yeees, bitches, I’m the best when Ray isn’t fucking playing! Suck my dick!”

“What about you Ray? Ryan is gonna ask about your job sooner or later. What are you gonna say?” Jack continued.

“Ugh, I don’t know… I could tell him I work with you guys in a shitty store or something. Geoff’s company, why not. A local business he wouldn’t know of.”

“And one day, he’ll show up and see it’s bullshit.”

Ray shook his head. “There’s no way I’m telling him the truth right now Jack. It’ll scare him away. The guy is the sweetest person on Earth. If he knows I own a fucking sniper, even if it’s a pink one, he’ll lose his fucking mind.”

“Then maybe he isn’t the one,” Jack said. “I don’t mean to be harsh but I think it’s better to tell the truth. Caiti didn’t agree with it at first but it worked out in the end. And now she’s prepared if anything happens.”

“Jack, let the kid be,” Geoff groaned. “You’re _married_ to Caiti; he’s just dating the guy. We don’t want everyone around town knowing what we do. It’s better this way. When Ray feels confident enough, he’ll tell him, simple as that. For now…everything’s good.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Jack admitted. “Sorry Ray, I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“It’s fine Jack, don’t worry about it. I mean…you’re not wrong. I’m not saying I _want_ to lie to him. But for now, he’s not asking any questions and I just hope it’ll stay that way.”

“I won!!!” Gavin shouted. “ **Suck my knob!** ”

“I won five minutes ago, moron.”

“But I beat Jack!”

“You’re still in ninth place Gavin. That’s pretty bad. No offense Jack.”

“None taken. I wasn’t paying attention to the game anyway. Too busy talking with Ray.”

“Why are you guys always putting the blame on me? I’m not even playing this time!”

“You’re too good Ray! You don’t even have to play to win.”

Geoff’s phone rang and he got up to take the call. The guys were still putting away their controllers when he came back in the room.

“Was it Caleb?” Michael asked.

“Yeah.”

“What’s he got for us?”

“Drugs, Los Santos’ Port, in four hours. It’s time to play with our new toys boys!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing about guns and how much they cost so that whole part was bullshit haha  
> This is still part of the introduction, next chapter will be more interesting I promise! :P
> 
> **I'm thinking of writing a oneshot of Ray and Ryan meeting at the golf club charity thingy, would it interest anyone? If so, let me know and I'll do it for sure!**


	3. In Which Ray Tries to Fly and Fails Miserably

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dialogues are so fun to write but I feel like I'm still struggling with writing descriptions in english... Nonetheless, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! Thanks for your support, it's really appreciated!

Drug-missions usually consisted of interrupting some crooks’ meeting (by sometimes shooting them in the head) and stealing the drugs they were about to sell. Most of the time, the boys would take the bags and leave in their own car but if they really wanted to piss off the drug dealers, they’d steal their van too. Those missions were pretty common since drug dealers popped out of nowhere like fucking cockroaches and they were usually pretty easy to execute. Jack would be in a helicopter, waiting for Geoff to come back with half the drugs. Depending on the location, Ray would hide on top of a building (or at least a few stories high) to look at the scene and tell the guys what was going on. When they were ready, Michael, Gavin and Geoff would barge in, shoot everyone Ray hadn’t already taken out, take the drugs and get the hell out of there. It was as easy as that. Of course, that was if Gavin wasn’t bored and blew something up in the process.

In short, Ray was feeling pretty confident about tonight. The port was filled with containers and allowed multiple hide-outs for Geoff, Gavin and Michael. Plus, the airport was nearby; Jack only had to wait for Geoff’s signal before actually stealing a helicopter. Set up a few stories high in a construction site, Ray was looking down at one of Los Santos’ South Port warehouses, where gangsters already started patrolling.

“I think I see about… fifteen. Two dudes up front, two others further in, three East and three West. The others are around the van,” Ray informed the rest of the crew.

 _“Is the buyer there yet?”_ Geoff’s voice asked in his ear.

“Nope. No blazer in sight.”

 _“Are you going in before he comes?”_ Jack inquired.

_“No, we should wait. See how much men he’s got. Otherwise, things could get pretty messy if he got here with his crew while we’re beating the shit out of his dealer.”_

_“The more the merrier!”_

Ray smiled at Gavin’s simple intervention. He looked away from his sniper rifle briefly to take a look at his cell phone. He had two messages, one from Ryan and another one from an unknown sender, probably some stupid survey.

_‘Ryan – 9:28PM : Mission Impossible 1 on channel 4. Could I interest you with some popcorn and mountain dew?’_

Ray let out a quiet laugh.

_‘Ray – 9:34PM : cant. emergency at work sorry’_

_‘Ray – 9:34PM : dat popcorn tho’_

_‘Ryan – 9:35PM : Maybe next time then. xx’_

Again, no questions asked about his work. That guy was perfect.

_“Brownman, how are we looking up there?”_

Ray put his phone back in his pocket, startled by Geoff’s voice.

“Hum, still clear, I don’t…uh, a black van is coming up on your right. Might be our guy.”

_“Oh, I see him, I see him!”_

_“We all see him Not-Dan.”_

_“_ Oh no– _this is_ not _my code name. I’m Charlie 2, call me Charlie 2 or–”_

_“Or what? You’re gonna cry? Is that what you’re gonna do?”_

_“Is it really necessary to argue on the radio guys?”_ Jack sighed.

“It’s definitely our guy,” Ray announced suddenly, holding tightly his gun. “He’s pulling in. He’s got at least four guys with him. Waiting for your signal Alpha 1.”

_“Stay put Brownman.”_

The radio went silent for a moment and Ray felt his pocket buzzing again. He was fighting the urge to take another look at his phone when he saw (and heard quite loudly) an explosion inside the warehouse.

 _“Overlord, what the fuck?! Did you just shoot rockets?”_ Geoff shouted in everyone’s earpiece.

_“I’m still at the airport! Was that an explosion?”_

Ray looked everywhere through his scope and saw two girls and a guy rushing between the containers near the warehouse.

“Fuck,” Ray whispered. “Guys, we’ve been made.”

_“What?”_

“RT fucking stole our mission.”

Achievement Hunter wasn’t the only crew in town. Sure, they were pretty much the greatest one, but there was another crew that was quite big, if not bigger: Rooster Teeth. Supervised by the one and only Gus Sorola, the grumpiest person Ray had ever met, and financed by businessman Matt Hullum, Rooster Teeth was composed of four prime members. There were Blaine (the perfect soldier), Barbara (the close-combat expert), Arryn (the brains) and Miles (the sniper). Miles wasn’t as good as Ray, but he had his moments. Ray actually thought that he was a pretty cool dude. Except when his team was fucking stealing their job.

Ray could hear Geoff swearing his ass off in his car even though the radio stayed dead silent. It wasn’t the first time RT did this, and it was starting to get old.

_“Those fuckers! I don’t care if they call a truce; I’m fucking blowing their brains out... Can you scare them off Brownman?”_

“Looks like Yang blew up a smoke bomb or somethin’… Can’t see anything now.”

Ray heard gunshots from the warehouse. His finger hitched as it stood on the trigger, Ray’s eyes locked on the smoke. He wasn’t allowed to shoot RT members. As the main two crews of Los Santos, they had come to the conclusion it was best for both parties to stay out of each other’s way. There were plenty of things to do in the city, plenty of crooks to kill and, after awhile, they all kinda had grown on each other. So Ray wouldn’t dare killing someone from the RT crew. But he definitely wouldn’t mind putting a bullet in someone’s leg right now.

 _“Screw it,”_ Geoff finally said. _“Let’s just go before they attract…”_ Ray heard cop sirens blasting off in the distance. _“Shit. Those motherfuckers… Alright everyone, retreat. We meet at the house. Charlie 2, **do not** blow anything up.”_

_“Aw, bullocks…”_

_“Retreating. See you at base,”_ Michael replied.

_“Leaving the airport.”_

“Moto-cop mode activated.”

Ray put his rifle on his back and started climbing down the ladder, skipping the last few rungs and landing roughly on the ground. He hid behind a pillar as black vans rushed out of the port exchanging gunshots, and he waited until the road was clear to make a move. Wondering if he got to base fast enough he'd have time to watch the last half of Mission Impossible with Ryan, Ray hopped on his motorcycle and rushed out of the port before the cops showed up. At least that’s what he tried to do. He had only gotten down four rows of containers when bullets pierced through his tires and the young man flew in the air. He landed a few feet away, hitting his back on one of the steel containers. Luckily, his gun didn’t break but Ray’s spine suffered from the shock. Swears falling off of his mouth, Ray managed to get up and pointed his gun around him, looking for the shooter, but he couldn’t find Miles anywhere.

“That motherfucker… Should’ve put on some stupid bulletproof tires, you idiot!” He kicked an empty Red Bull can at his feet and pressed a finger on his earpiece, his back hurting like hell. He felt blood in his mouth as he spoke. “I’m fucked. I need a ride.”

_“What happened, Brownman?”_

“Fucking Luna shot my tires, I’m on foot.”

 _“I can turn around,”_ Michael offered.

 _“No, I got it. You boys go home,”_ Geoff said. _“Ray, stay where you are, I’ll pick you up.”_

“Roger that.”

That motherfucking Miles Luna was gonna be dead the next time he saw him. Or at least, he’d let him know he was pretty pissed. Ray dragged his gun along and went back to his motorcycle. He kicked the bike out of frustration and found someplace to hide it before slowly making his way towards the exit. They’d have to come back for his bike. Ray figured Jack wouldn’t mind helping him the next day. He had just got the damn thing fixed and now he had to do it all again, thanks to Miles fucking Luna. Ray took out his phone to take his mind off of what happened and remembered he had an anonymous text.

_‘Unknown * Private – 9:25PM : dont be too enRAYged ;)’_

Goddammit Barb. Did Caleb sell his number to her again? He looked at Ryan’s messages.

_‘Ryan – 9:37PM : Will you be coming by later?’_

Ah, yes. Comfort. Geoff’s car appeared before he could answer and the man honked at him. Ray promptly got in the car, throwing his rifle in the backseat and taking the Assault Shotgun Geoff was handing him.

“Take my gun. Police is everywhere. Those fuckers planned everything… Caleb must’ve told them about the deal too.”

“Why does he keep doing this? He knows we’ll run into each other.”

“He doesn’t give a fuck. He gets paid for the tip, and that’s all he cares about. Greedy bitch…” Geoff mumbled as he pulled the car around to get out of the building. “Are you okay man? You look like shit.”

“Tried flying with my bike but it wasn’t my thing,” Ray explained as he took out his earpiece. He took a quick look at himself in the side-mirror. His lower-lip was busted and he had some nasty scratches on the side of his cheek. His left arm felt like it was on fire, but it was nothing compared to his back. How was he going to explain this to Ryan? “Everyone else got out okay?” Ray asked, not paying attention to the pain radiating in his spine.

“I guess so. Fuck, I’m going to _kill_ Gus. This is the second time they steal a job from us this month. Fucking assholes…” As soon as they left the port and went onto the main road, a police car spotted them. “Fuck, seriously? Fucking cops, we didn’t even have time to do anything illegal yet!”

Sirens full-on, the cops began pursuing them downtown Los Santos. Geoff kept swearing as he passed on many red lights, avoiding other cars and pedestrians. He managed to lose two out of their three pursers, but the last car just wouldn’t give up.

“Want me to shoot at them?” Ray proposed.

“Might as well…”

The police car nudged at the back of theirs, forcing them to do a 180° and slamming against a concrete wall. Two cops got out of the car, guns pointing straight at their heads. They both look familiar; they must’ve arrested them before.

“Get out of the car, hands up where I can see them!” one of the cops yelled.

“Is that…?”

“I think so, yes.”

Brandon Farmahini and Chris Demarais had been working at La Puerta’s precinct for years now but it was the first time Ray saw them on patrol. The guys were usually doing what seemed like boring paperwork and never really got involved with the crew. They were just background faces that had to deal with the weirdest bosses of all time.

Geoff and Ray stared at the two officers for a while, the young men starting to get nervous under their gaze.

“Get out of the car, **now**!” Brandon repeated.

“I guess I shouldn’t shoot them,” Ray figured.

“No, I guess not. We’ll be fine; just follow my lead.”

They got out of the car, hands in the air, and the two men proceeded to awkwardly tackle them to the ground and handcuff them. They looked relieved Geoff and Ray didn’t try anything to get away.

“Nice to see you got a promotion, boys,” Geoff snickered as he was being pushed in the backseat of their car, quickly followed by Ray.

“We’re no boys,” Chris replied as his partner called the precinct. “I mean, we are but… We’re officers now. Pay us some respect.”

“Sure thing _officer_ … You still working for La Puerta’s precinct right?”

“Y-Yes… Why?”

Geoff offered a simple smile as a response and stayed quiet for the whole ride. When they got at the precinct, Brandon and Chris escorted them inside, heading towards the interrogation rooms, but a tall man stopped them as they walked across the hall.

“What are you doing?” Joel asked them, giving a quizzical look to the two cops.

“We’re bringing them in interrogation for you and Burnie.”

“Interrogation for what?”

“There’s been an explosion sir. At Port South.”

“Yes, I’m aware of…”

“Farmahini, Demarais. What’s going on here?”

Burnie Burns stood at his partner’s side, arms crossed. They both were old friends of Geoff’s, and ever since Ray had joined the crew, they had been their allies. Sort of. They didn’t encourage violence but they didn’t mind when it implied taking care of drug lords and other criminals. Hell, the crew even hooked them up a couple of times with drugs they had stolen. As long as the AH Crew didn’t tear down the city, Burns and Heyman wouldn’t mind not making a fuss when they got caught.

“They were escaping the Port South sir,” Farmahini slowly repeated, knowing he had already lost this battle.

“Escaping _really?_ Seems more like they were trying to get help. Have you been hurt sir?” Burnie inquired with a worried tone, turning to Ray.

“Uh, yes, the explosion and stuff. I was just fishing, you see.”

“Fishing...” Joel mumbled. “It can be dangerous sometimes.”

“Tell me about it.”

“They ran away from us when we told them multiple times to stop their–”

“ _Brandon, Brandon, Brandon…_ ” Burnie sighed, putting a hand on the officer’s shoulder. “I get it, you’re new at this job, it’s okay to make mistakes. You see; they just had an emergency.” Burnie looked at Geoff. “I suppose you were heading towards the hospital, am I right?”

“Correct sir. My friend needs some medical attention,” Geoff claimed. “I was just trying to get there as fast as I could.”

“But they had guns in their car!” Chris chimed in. “Huge guns!”

“Yeah, well this is America. Everyone can have a gun, it’s no biggie. Besides Chris, you know you get _a little_ excited sometimes. I pretty sure they weren’t that big…”

“No sir, I’m definitely positive, they were–“

“ **I’m pretty sure they weren’t that big**. Now if you’d be kind enough to let those men leave… I would _hate_ to have to give your old job back if they decided to fill a complaint but... There’s just so much paperwork to do, you know.”

“There’s been an explosion at Port South, you see,” Joel reminded them, his eyes looking kind of crazy.

Brandon stared at his superiors with a mix of disbelief and anger for a while, but he obeyed and uncuffed Geoff and Ray. Burnie looked at his employees with an innocent smile as they went back outside, getting back to their patrolling.

“Were you responsible for the explosion?” Burnie asked, not even glancing at Geoff.

“Nope. RT beat us to it.”

“And why did they feel the need to blow up the Port?”

“Drug dealers. And probably for the show.”

“Great,” Burnie mumbled as he leaned back at Joel. “Remind me to call Gus.”

“You know, I once saw a beaver when I went on a fishing trip and, let me tell you, it was quite amazing–”

“Joel, nobody cares about beavers.” Burnie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Okay, you guys just go before my boys start thinking for themselves and arrest you. And **stop** blowing shit up,” he warned them, pointing his finger at them like he was a teacher scolding his students.

“I already told Gavin.” Geoff waved the officers goodbye and Ray followed him outside. Their car was waiting for them in front of the precinct, guns fully visible. “Man, isn’t it just great having cop-friends?” Geoff smiled cheerfully as Ray sit in the passenger seat. “Ready to go see Nurse Jackie?”

“Actually, if you could drop me at Atlee Street, that would be great.”

“Spending the night at Ryan’s?”

“Yeah.” Ray didn’t feel like talking anymore, he just wanted to curl up in Ryan’s arms and sleep ‘til the end of times.

Geoff mumbled something about cleaning his face up first but drove to Atlee Street anyway. After making sure Ray wasn’t feeling sick or dizzy from his head injury, he left him on the corner of the street and went back to the warehouse with Ray’s gear. The young man slowly walked up the street to Ryan’s apartment, almost falling asleep in the building’s elevator. He finally managed to get at Ryan’s door and knocked. It opened up a few seconds later and Ryan’s smile faded as soon as his eyes set upon Ray’s face.

“Oh my god! What happened?” He pulled the young man inside before Ray could say anything, leading him in the living room and helping him sit down on the couch.

“Got mugged on my way here… I fought back. Wasn’t my greatest idea.”

And so the lies began. Ryan’s eyes went wide as he listened to him.

“Jesus Christ… Did you see who it was?”

“Couldn’t get a clear shot at his face… The guy ran away before I could.”

“I’m gonna get some ice, don’t move.”

Ryan got up and went in the kitchen. When he came back, he had a small plastic bag full of ice and a wet towel. He slowly cleaned up his face, making sure he didn’t hurt Ray in the process. Once he was done, he held him in his arms, gently petting his hair.

“I can’t believe you got mugged… I should’ve been there.”

“And get fucked up too?”

“I’m pretty big, I would’ve scared the fucker away...”

Ray smiled, his eyes closed. It was warm in Ryan’s arms, he couldn’t think of a better place to be. Every word the man said made his chest slightly shake under Ray’s ear, tickling him. He could also hear his heart beating, slow and steady. _Thump, thump, thump, thump…_ Ray woke up a few hours later in Ryan’s bed, tucked under the covers and strong arms around him. Once he figured out he had fallen asleep on the sofa and that his boyfriend had transferred him to the bed, he snuggled against Ryan and went back to sleep, at ease.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will mostly be Raywood fluff. Brace yourself, the feels are coming haha


	4. The Charity Fair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a one-shot about Ray and Ryan's first encounter. Wasn't supposed to post it now but it's Christmas and I couldn't finish chapter 4 in time...so there you go. I know I promised fluff but this is more...funny/cute? Anyway, you'll see! Happy holidays and see you next week for another chapter! (I think I'm gonna start posting on fridays from now on...let's just say I'll try posting every weekend haha)
> 
> **You don't have to read this chapter if you're only interested in the main story, this is just a special bonus**

“Gavin, how can you mess up putting on a **_clip-on tie_**?”

“I didn’t know where to put the bloody thing…”

“You literally only have to clip it on, that’s all you have to do Gavin. C’mere, I’ll fix it… You look like a fucking idiot.”

As Michael was showing Gavin how to correctly clip his tie to his shirt, Ray looked around, analyzing the crowd. They were all upper-class people. Most of them were old as fuck but there were a few younger couples, probably thinking that this stupid Charity Fair would count as a fancy date. There were also CEOs laughing as they shared a glass of champagne with a long-time partner (that they were ether planning to eliminate or to please), and there was the AH crew, ready to get their hands on anything valuable. Geoff and Jack were already inside, hopefully making their way to the manager’s office. The poor idiot always bragged about his _soon-to-be-gone_ collection of diamonds and gemstones. He was practically asking for it.

“There you go… Now we’re talking.” Michael pulled Ray closer and put his arms around his friends’ shoulders. “Look at this: Team Lads all suited up, nice and classy, ready to pick some pockets.”

“We should do a competition,” Gavin proposed as they slowly walked towards the entrance. “See who can steal the most.”

“What’s in it for the winner?” Ray asked, interested.

“He gets to be the ‘Lad of the Week’ and he can make the others do anything. And by _others_ , I mean you and Michael. I’m obviously gonna be the winner.”

“Keep talking, smartass. You know you’re gonna end up dead last. If anything, the competition is really between me and Ray-man.”

“I’m sure you’ll win Michael,” Ray lied.

“I’m sure I’ll win too.”

Gavin laughed weirdly, looking suspicious. “I’m gonna ask you guys to do so many things…”

“You should focus on winning first,” Ray suggested, showing him the wallet he had stolen a few seconds ago. Gavin squawked, completely befuddled as Michael put on his game face. “It’s on bitches.”

They each went their own way, ready to steal everything the world had to offer…in the guests’ pockets. The reception hall was huge and there were people in every corner. Everyone was laughing and talking loudly, and if Ray hadn’t had the competition to keep his mind clear, the noise would’ve driven him crazy. His hands slipped in everyone’s pocket, looking for something valuable, and no one ever noticed. They smiled as he passed by, some of them thought he was a waiter, others simply ignored him. Ray didn’t bother keeping the wallets; he took the money and put the whole thing back where it belonged. About half an hour later, his pockets were full of cash and he got his hands on two watches that he proudly wore. Michael and Gavin didn’t stand a fucking chance.

Allowing himself to take a break, Ray stood near the exit, trying to find his friends in the crowd. The Lads were nowhere to be seen but Ray caught Geoff and Jack talking to two dudes in uniforms on the second floor. Figuring they had been stuck in that conversation for a while, Ray smirked and sent his boss a quick text.

_‘Ray – 10:12PM : church and caboose bothering you?’_

He watched as Geoff excused himself and walked away followed by Jack as the two officers searched for another distraction.

_‘Geoff – 10:12PM : Jesus fuck.’_

_‘Geoff – 10:12PM : Thanks kid you got us out.’_

_‘Geoff – 10:13PM : Get ready to leave.’_

_‘Ray – 10:13PM : np i’ll tell the others’_

He sent a text to Michael and Gavin ( _G &J on their way to the top, last chance to win this shit_) and decided to go to the bar for some last-minute stealing. Drunk-heads wouldn’t notice if money disappeared from their pockets and Ray wanted to be sure Michael and Gavin’s scores would be nowhere near his. Luckily, the bar was full and Ray was able to slip in between two men, pretending to get a drink. He was about to get his hands on another wallet when his eyes met someone else’s. Ray froze, thinking the man would call him out and cause a commotion, but the guy wasn’t actually paying attention to what he was looking. He seemed awfully bored and his gaze slowly shifted to something else. Ray’s did not.

He let go of the wallet he was about to steal and kept observing the other man. He had to be in his mid-thirties or something, no more than that. He was wearing a tuxedo (like everyone else around them) and looked fucking hot in it. He wasn’t fit, he was kinda chubby in fact, but it didn’t matter to Ray. His hair was pale and not so short. It looked soft as hell and Ray caught himself thinking what it would be like to feel it. His phone buzzed in his pocket and brought Ray back to reality.

_‘Geoff – 10:26PM : LEAVING NOW.’_

Fuck, already? He couldn’t leave _now_ , not after seeing the hottest man alive, that’s for sure. That man that looked so freaking bored at this stupid Charity Fair…

_‘Ray – 10:27PM : actually i think i’ll stick around a bit’_

_‘Ray – 10:27PM : if you dont plan to blow up the place’_

_‘Geoff – 10:27PM : We’ll leave quietly then. Have fun kid.’_

Ray smiled and put his phone away, looking up to make sure the man wasn’t gone. He had a drink now but didn’t seem to want to leave the bar. Ray slowly made his way towards him, a little smirk on his face, feeling somewhat confident about this. Ray never flirted, hell he rarely ever felt any attraction towards anyone, but in his fancy suit at this stupid Charity Fair, Ray felt disguised, different. He caught the man’s attention as he was approaching him, his blue eyes setting upon him with curiosity. Ray settled at the bar right next to him, pretending to wait for the waiter’s attention. He gave a look at the man’s drink.

“That’s a lame glass for a martini.”

“It’s water,” the man replied. His voice was low as fuck and caught Ray by surprise.

“You don’t drink?”

“No. I like being in control of my own mind.”

“I see…” Ray turned a little bit to face him. “You came here for business?”

“I’m with someone actually.”

“Let me guess: a date gone wrong?”

The man smiled weakly, his eyes going down to his drink. “Yeah… She’s a girl from work; I just wanted to give her a chance but…”

“What? Champagne and old rich people aren’t your thing?”

“No, not really,” the man admitted with that cute smile of his.

It was weird. From afar, the guy looked serious as hell, confident and classy, but now…Ray realized he was rather shy and reserved. But still hot as fuck. Ray pressed his back at the counter, looking at the crowd while he was trying to keep the conversation going. Geoff and Jack walked past him and, before they could see him, he turned back at the man, holding out a hand.

“I’m Ray. Also not a fan of pretentious parties and drinks.”

“Looks like we both suck at enjoying ourselves on a Friday-night,” the man laughed before firmly shaking his hand. “Call me Ryan.”

“Ryan…have I seen you before? You look familiar.” Total lie.

“I doubt it. I rarely go out.”

“Me neither. I like staying home better, playing video games.”

“You’re still in school?” Ryan asked, curious. Was he making sure Ray wasn’t a minor?

“No, haven’t been for a while. I work full-time. I actually came here for a job.”

“Oh, I shouldn’t bother you then, sorry,” Ryan quickly apologized.

“Oh, no, no, it’s fine,” Ray immediately reassured him. “I’m done with it anyway. Was about to get out of here when I saw you…” Ryan smiled a bit in response but stayed quiet. “What happened to that girl of yours?” Ray wondered. “Did she leave?”

“I, uh, might have escaped,” Ryan mumbled with a guilty look. “I should probably go back to her actually. I don’t wanna seem rude, we work together…”

“Pretending to like her won’t make it less awkward,” Ray warned him. “We could get out of here, you know. Try to turn this night around. It’s not so late after all, I’m sure we can find something fun to do.” He gave Ryan an innocent smile and Ray could’ve sworn the man’s cheeks turned a little bit pink.

“Yeah, sure, why not,” Ryan finally managed to say. “I-I’ll just tell her I have to go. Could you wait for me outside?”

“Sure. If you’re not there in ten minutes, I’ll just assume she kidnapped you.”

“Let’s hope it won’t come to that.”

Ryan patted him on the shoulder before disappearing in the crowd, a nervous smile on his lips. Ray looked at the empty spot next to him for a while, wondering what the hell he was doing exactly. That guy was out of his league. He seemed so sweet and shy and mature and…innocent. The man probably never hurt a fly in his entire existence, and that whole ‘aura’ of tenderness made Ray feel all sorts of things. He wanted to fuck the shit out of that guy but he couldn’t _just_ fuck him. He wanted to know more about him first, he wanted to see him laid back, he wanted to hear more of that calm, low voice of his, but the more he would question Ryan, the more he would get questioned, and that would lead to no good. Obviously, he couldn’t tell anything about the crew, but Ray didn’t feel like lying either. There was always the possibility of having sex with him and never seeing him again but there was no guaranty Ryan wouldn’t be hurt in the process. Ray hated himself for considering a one-night stand but it was probably the best option.

Slowly making his way outside, Ray took out his phone to look at the time, making sure he wouldn’t have to go back inside to save Ryan from his admirer. He had two texts that he promptly ignored (one from Michael telling him how much he owned Gavin at the competition and the other one from Gavin telling him Michael was a _cheating bastard_ ). Ray didn’t care about the competition anymore. He had probably lost anyway now since he got distracted with Ryan, but it was going to be worth it.

“Where do you wanna go?”

Ray almost jumped but managed to keep his cool as he turned to face Ryan. “Uh, I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Do you wanna talk a little? We could go for a walk or something…” A walk. That was literally the lamest thing ever to suggest, what the hell Ray. They had just met, Ryan would never want to go on a walk with–

“Yeah, sounds good,” Ryan replied with a smile before slowly making his way down the stairs.

Ray couldn’t help looking surprised. He quickly pulled himself together and followed him, throwing his phone back in his pocket. They didn’t have any destination in mind, they just started walking along the sidewalk, putting as much distance between them and the Golf Club. Since they both had gotten rides to the party, it didn’t matter where they went; they could wander anywhere they wanted, and so they did. They walked for so long, Ray’s legs started to feel sore, but he didn’t mind because Ryan was talking and as long as his soothing voice filled the silent night, Ray would’ve followed him anywhere. He wasn’t thinking about fucking him anymore, all he wanted was to hear more about him. The guy was a teacher at the University of San Andrea and seemed to love electronics more than people. He enjoyed literature and debates, and he was apparently a space enthusiast. If Ray’s rumbling stomach would’ve stayed quiet, Ryan could’ve gone on forever about supernovas.

“Went a bit on a tangent there, sorry... Looks like you’re hungry.”

“Yeah, haven’t eaten since noon.”

“N-Noon? You must be starving! What time is it?”

“Uh, I don’t know…” Ray took a look at his watch. “Almost one thirty. Fuck, how long have we been walking…”

“Long enough. Never been in this part of town… I should call you a cab and get you back home.”

Home already? No… Ray had to come up with something, quick. “Or we could…you know…grab something to eat. Aren’t you hungry too? Those appetizers at the Charity Fair looked pretty…small.”

“Mmh, I guess I could use a snack,” Ryan agreed after a moment.

“There’s a bus stop up ahead. I’m sure we’ll find a place to eat downtown.”

They walked up to the bus stop and waited forever to be picked up. It took even longer to get back to the center of the city and when they finally did, they went to the nearest McDonalds’. Ray paid for them with the cash he totally earned legally and they sat down at the back of the restaurant. They were exhausted from their long walk, and their evening in general. Ryan had removed his bowtie by now, and his hair was a bit undone but it still managed to look great. That man must’ve made a pact with the devil or something…

“I haven’t eaten a Big Mac in ages,” Ryan groaned as he devoured his lunch.

“Tastes even better at 3AM,” Ray assured him.

“Yes, it does. Hey…are you wearing two watches?”

“Mmh?” Ray glanced at his wrists. He had rolled up his sleeves to eat and now he looked like the biggest douche bag to ever douche. “Uh…yeah. It’s, uh, it’s ‘cause it’s always time to diddle, you know. And by diddle I mean masturbate.”

Ryan’s eyes grew wide and before Ray could start hating himself for saying something so stupid, the man let out a loud laugh (of course, the greatest laugh ever, damn this man), and they ended up giggling like idiots for a solid five minutes.

“I say stuff like that a lot, get used to it,” Ray warned him once they calmed down.

“You plan on seeing me regularly?” Ryan teased him, raising an eyebrow.

“Only if you want me to.”

Ryan stayed quiet for a while, his gaze intense as he considered Ray, who couldn’t believe everything that happened that night. He was only supposed to steal some wallets (and possibly blow up Los Santos Golf Club) and instead, he had ended up in a McDonalds’ at three in the morning with the sweetest man on Earth. In the last hours, he had learned way too much technical stuff about computers, he had made inappropriate comments all over the place and somehow, he had still managed to not make Ryan run away. It was unbelievable.

A smile slowly made its way on Ryan’s lips as he was finally making up his mind about seeing Ray again. He looked down at his hands, words shyly coming out of him.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.”

///|||\\\\\|||///|||\\\\\|||///|||\\\\\|||///|||\\\\\|||///|||\\\\\|||///|||\\\\\

When Ray got at the warehouse, it was past 2PM and he knew he was fucked. He never planned to stay this long at Ryan’s place but damn, the man could cook. As soon as Ray walked in, an overly-excited Lad jumped on him, clinging on his arm like a child.

“You cheeky little bastard! You bailed on us for an old chump!”

“Morning Gav, I’m fine thanks.”

“Did you shag him?”

“I came, I saw, I conquered. But I mostly came.”

Ray dropped his bag on the floor, nodding at Geoff and Jack talking in the kitchen as he sat down next to Michael. He glanced at the TV to see what the Lad was playing but the screen went black as soon as he sat down. Ray let out an amused sigh as his friends cornered him.

“I didn’t know you were into old dudes,” Michael said without blinking.

“I didn’t know you cared about gossip.”

“When it involves you getting fucked by some stranger, I’m all about it.”

“Who says I was the one getting fucked?”

Michael raised a brow as Gavin gasped. “Oh, so you’re a topper? Who would’ve thought…”

“He wasn’t the only one I fucked yesterday.” Ray pointed at the bag he had dropped at their feet. “Five hundred cash, one diamond ring and two gold watches.” Gavin’s face went pale and Michael swore under his breath as Ray put his arms behind his head, a victorious smile on his lips. “Now who's ready to be my lovely slaves for a week?”


	5. In Which Roses Solve Everything and Ice Cream Is the Ultimate Remedy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okayyy. This is gonna be a lot of fluff to handle, I hope you're ready. The next chapters aren't going to be as cheesy as this one, stuff is gonna happen and it's going to be more AH crew oriented. So for those of you who aren't big about shipping, don't lose hope! <3
> 
> Thank you for your kudos/comments/bookmarks, they make my day!  
> Happy New Year btw! :D

Ray had been avoiding Ryan for a week now. The bruises on his back were horrible the first few days and were obviously not the result of being mugged. He couldn’t take the risk of Ryan seeing his purple-yellowish back so he had came up with the lamest excuses to avoid going to his place. Ray felt so bad about it, feeling that Ryan wouldn’t believe a word he said. They texted each other a lot and Ray could tell Ryan was worried about him, but the guy didn’t ask questions (apparently, it really wasn’t his style). When the bruises finally started to disappear, Ray decided it was time to make up for his lack of presence: he was going to spend the week-end with Ryan. No cell phones, no drug deals, just Ryan. He had already told Geoff about his plans and the man didn’t mind at all. He just told him to have a great time and that they would see each other on Monday. Being good friends with his boss had its benefits.

After taking a quick shower and spending an hour to get himself to look decent enough, Ray went to buy Ryan some flowers (that’s what other couples did, right?) but couldn’t get himself to choose what. He wasn’t the romantic type, he barely could call Ryan cute names, but he wanted to let the man know he appreciated him. _A lot._ He finally settled for one single red rose. It was simple and hopefully Ryan would find it sweet. Ray paid for the rose (it would’ve been lame to give his boyfriend a stolen flower) and slowly made his way to Atlee Street.

Friday night, 8PM, rose in hand, Ray waited patiently for Ryan to open the door. He hadn’t told him he was coming over; he wanted it to be a surprise. The thought that maybe, _just maybe_ , Ryan wouldn’t be home had **never** crossed his mind. And he felt like an idiot as he stared at Ryan’s closed door.

“Dammit, should’ve called first or somethin’…”

He glanced nervously at his phone before sending Ryan a quick text.

_‘Ray – 8:04PM : you home?’_

Ryan’s response was immediate.

_‘Ryan – 8:04PM : No.’_

Ray felt his heart break. He should’ve known Ryan was upset. It had been pretty stupid of him to avoid him like that, but he didn’t want him to worry about the bruises. He didn’t want him to know about the lies, and yet, it looked like Ryan already knew he was full of shit. Maybe he thought he was cheating on him, or worse, that he didn’t like him anymore. Feeling like the biggest scumbag on Earth, Ray walked back to the elevator, looking blankly at the rose he held. That shit was going straight down the first trashcan he saw.

There was a small ‘ding’ as the elevator doors opened and Ray nearly bumped into someone. Someone with deep blue eyes and an inquisitive frown.

“Ray? What are you doing here?”

“I, uh…” The young man awkwardly stuck out the rose and held it towards Ryan. “I wanted to surprise you.”

Ryan stared at the rose for a few seconds before looking back at Ray. “It’s for me?”

“Well yeah, I wouldn’t buy roses for anyone else…”

A faint smile pulled up the corner of Ryan’s lips. He stepped out of the elevator (since the doors were about to close on him) and took the rose out of Ray’s hand, thanking him with a soft kiss on the cheek.

“Are you trying to apologize for something?”

“Maybe.”

“What would that be?” Ryan wondered with a vaguely evil smile as he walked to his apartment.

“I don’t know. I might be kind of a jerk,” Ray mumbled as he followed him.

“Why’s that?”

“’Cause I dodged you for a week?”

Ryan stood still, his keys in the lock. He looked serious now, almost worried.

“Was everything okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, everything’s fine,” Ray reassured him. “I just…I had to figure some things out. I should’ve kept you in the loop. Sorry.”

Ryan let go of his keys, turning to his boyfriend. “Ray, I don’t mind if you need privacy, I totally get that. You don’t have to tell me everything and I will never expect you to do so. But _please,_ don’t lie to me. I’m not naïve and I’m not stupid, so don’t bother lying to my face when I’m not even forcing you to tell me anything.” Ryan’s words weren’t meant to be harsh but they hit Ray right in the gut.

“I-I won’t do it again. I promise.” Ray glanced back up to meet Ryan’s eyes.

The man smiled, small wrinkles appearing at the corner of his eyes. He opened the door and invited Ray inside. “Thanks for the rose. It’s lovely.”

“Glad you like it.”

Ryan put his bag on the ground and went to the kitchen as Ray slowly made his way into the living room, hands in his pockets, feeling a little bit awkward. Yeah, romance really wasn’t his thing.

“Did you have anything else planned or did you want to spend the night here, just the two of us?” Ryan suddenly asked as he looked for a fancy glass to put the rose in.

“Well…I was kinda hoping we could spend the week-end together. If you’re not busy. We could…do stuff.”

“Yeah?” Ryan said, turning around to meet his gaze. He laughed softly before getting back to his search. “That sounds awful nice. What d’you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. Movies, video games… How about we go to the beach tomorrow? We could rent a jet ski or somethin’. Could be fun.”

“Sure, we could do that. I’ve never really seen you out in the sun. Always thought you were a vampire.”

“Dammit, you figured it out,” Ray laughed.

Ryan smiled and put down the rose on the counter before walking up to Ray. He put his arms around him, his hands on his lower-back. “I missed you,” he whispered, his eyes deep into Ray’s.

“I missed you too. Next time I start avoiding you again, please come and kidnap me.”

“Duly noted.” Ryan kissed him softly, his forehead against Ray’s. They stayed like this for a while before Ryan spoke again. “How about some Call of Duty?”

“Dude, you’re reading my mind.” Ray laughed before giving his boyfriend one last peck and he sat down on the sofa while Ryan settled his Xbox. He handed a controller to Ray and sat down next to him, his head resting on Ray’s shoulder as the game loaded.

It had been awhile since they had a game night and Ray couldn’t be happier. He was a beast at COD, no one in the crew was nearly as good as him but Ryan somehow was. Sure, he’d always die more times than Ray but he wouldn’t go down without a fight. And it was always a hell of a fight. Ray enjoyed the challenge, sometimes even taking it outside the game and elbowing Ryan when he was starting to lose the advantage.

They had fun, and he could’ve lost all of that (all those yells and laughs, all those nudges and kisses, all those insults and cute names) just for a stupid lie. Ray felt overwhelmed upon the realisation that…he really, _really_ liked Ryan. It wasn’t about physical attraction anymore, it was all about **Ryan**. The way he pronounced certain words, the way he contained his laughter, the way he walked down the hallway, the way he looked at everything with such interest… It almost scared Ray, how much he cared about the guy. If anything were to happen to him… Ray couldn't get himself to think about it. As cheesy and lame as it sounded, life without Ryan seemed awful to him. He had a best friend, someone that was able to turn his crazy life of his into a peaceful paradise, and Ray wished he'd never have to lose it all.

“Are you some sort of drug?” Ray suddenly asked as they were both trying to find each other in a huge map.

“Uh…you mean,…if I’m on some kind of drug to be this good?”

“Yes Ryan, totally what I meant. You’re really good at getting yourself killed,” Ray smirked as he shot his boyfriend off a building.

Ryan let out a loud “fuck!” before putting down his controller, defeated. “Shall we call it a night?”

“Yeah, I think I’ve killed you enough.”

“May I remind you that you went out in flames more than once, thanks to my grenades… What was up with you and drugs?”

“Oh, I just… I was thinking about us and I came to the conclusion that you got me addicted to you.”

“Did I?”

“Yes. And if they try to make me go to rehab, I’ll do like my girl Amy and I’ll say no, no, no.”

Ryan laughed softly as he close his console. “And if I try to make you go to bed, what will you say?”

“I think you should rather ask what I would _do_.” Ray smirked as he leaned closer to Ryan, planting a soft kiss on his lips. He felt Ryan wrap his arms around him, his hands going under his shirt and gently caressing his skin as he deepened the kiss. A few minutes later, they were in his bedroom and they spent a night of pure delight. Ray didn’t want to leave the bed when he woke up in the morning, but in their hurry the previous night, they had forgotten to pull the curtains and now the sun was filling the room like a fucking helicopter spotlight. 

Sleepy and bitter, Ray growled in his pillow and pulled the sheets over his head in a weak attempt to block out the light. He felt the mattress shift and, a few seconds later, Ryan’s fingers gently stroked his back. “Good morning honey.”

Ray’s heart melted. That’s all he needed. For the rest of his life, all he needed was that low, calm voice telling him _Good morning honey_. And getting a backrub. And maybe some pancakes.

“Hey…” His voice was raspy, unattractive as shit (which was generally how Ray always felt). “Could you make me some pancakes, _pleeease_?”

Ryan laughed softly. He seemed tired but in a good mood nonetheless. “Sure. But only if you set the table.”

“I’ll make the prettiest table you’ll ever see.”

They stayed in bed for a while, cuddling and teasing each other. Ryan was the first to get up, taking all the covers with him to get Ray to get his ass out of bed. After throwing a few ‘ _motherfucking blanket stealer’_ at Ryan, Ray got up and followed him in the kitchen. He only put on his boxers and he couldn't stop yawning as he set the table. Ryan looked at him with an amused smile, preparing the most delicious pancakes Ray couldn’t wait to eat. It was almost past 12PM when they finished breakfast.

“You still wanna go to the beach?” Ryan asked as he was washing the dishes with Ray. “You look pretty tired…”

“Well it’s still early morning for me after all,” Ray joked. “But yeah, if you wanna go out, we can go to the beach. Especially if that means you stay shirtless.”

“Careful not to get blind staring at it,” Ryan mumbled. “My chest is worst than sun on the snow.”

“I think it’s the best. Plus, I get to put sunscreen on it, right?”

“You’re unbelievable.”

It meant yes. Ryan gathered some things to eat on the beach, he gave Ray an old swimsuit that was his size and they headed to Vespucci Beach with every intention of renting a jet ski. Somehow, they ended up with ice cream under an umbrella shaped like a hamburger. Ray expected more people at the beach but no one was near their spot and they could enjoy the sea breeze without being disturbed by fucking children screaming all over the place. It was paradise. Ray had ice cream, he got to put sunscreen on Ryan and the sand wasn’t too hot. Everything was perfect. Emphasis on _was._

“Ray! What are you doing here man?”

Fuck. Someone he knew. That couldn’t be good.

Ryan and Ray simultaneously looked behind them, and here he was: Michael fucking Jones. Ray would’ve ripped his stupid grin right off his face if Ryan wasn’t there. How did he find them, how could he have known, what the fuck was he doing on the same beach, was he spying on Ray just to meet Ryan, was he that fucking obnoxious? But then Ray saw Lindsay coming their way with two ice cream cones and Ray finally realized this was just some stupid coincidence. _Why God, why?_ Didn’t they have something cute and illegal to do elsewhere? Why were they at the same fucking beach at the same _fucking day_?

Ray forced a smile, feeling his anxiety go through the roof as his friends came closer. “Hey man… Don’t you have a pool at your place?”

“Well yeah, but we don’t have a beach. Where else could we take fucking huge-ass boring walks on pointy rocks Ray, come on.”

“We already went over this Michael, I bought you ice cream,” Lindsay pointed out, two huge cones in hand.

“Ice cream won’t fix my foot Linds. It has feelings. And it got hurt. Physically.”

“You’re such a cry-baby sometimes,” Lindsay laughed.

She handed him his ice cream and they both looked at Ray with that same ‘now-introduce-us-to-your-secret-boyfriend’ look. Ray couldn’t do it. He felt so freaking shy for some reason and continued to tiptoe around what they wanted to hear.

“It’s been awhile Lindsay. How you’ve been?” Ray asked, feeling his cheeks turn red.

“Good, good. Looks like you’ve been great yourself,” Lindsay replied. She added a wink before glancing at Ryan.

Goddammit, those guys were the worst. Ray turned to Ryan, ridiculously nervous. The man was smiling politely, probably wondering who the fuck those two random strangers were and why they were smiling like idiots. “Um, Ryan, this is Michael, a friend from work, and his wife Lindsay. Guys, this is Ryan…” It was pretty obvious he was his boyfriend, did he really have to say it? Weren’t his cheeks red enough? Before he could gather up the courage to actually say it, Ryan got up and held out his hand to greet Ray’s friends. He didn’t seem to notice how awkward the situation was for Ray.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is _all_ mine,” Michael assured him with a grin, firmly shaking his hand. “You're not as tall as I imagined…”

“Really? Sorry to disappoint you. …so you heard of me before?”

“Well, you know Ray… Ain’t much of a talker, but I got him to mention you once or twice.”

“I see…” Ryan smiled at Ray before turning back at Michael. “So are you a gamer as well?”

What the hell, Ryan was good at small talk. Ray looked at him practically in awe as Ryan talked with the Jones about video games, public transportations, the weather and cats (that last part was mostly Lindsay babbling about how wonderful creatures cats were but Ryan cared enough to listen to her with an interested look on his face). Michael slowly started to back away when Lindsay’s rant dragged on.

“We should probably head back home now Lindsay. I’m gonna get sunburnt all over if we don’t leave soon.”

“Oh, you’re right, we should… Don’t forget we have to stop by the pharmacy for my pills.”

That could either mean they had to buy bullets or she really needed pills.

“We should get together some time,” Ryan suggested. “We could have dinner, it’d be fun.”

“Yeah, totally, we could do that,” Michael agreed. “Some barbecue shit or whatever… Anyway, it was nice to meet you Ryan. Sorry about the intrusion, we’ll leave you two lovebirds alone now.”

He winked at Ray and waved them goodbye before getting back to his huge-ass boring walk with Lindsay. Ray let out a sigh as he lied back down, followed by Ryan.

“You okay? You looked tense,” Ryan noticed.

“Yeah, I just…wasn’t prepared for that.”

“ _That_?”

“Michael has been wanting to meet you for weeks,” Ray told him.

“Really? Why didn’t you introduce us sooner then? He’s a nice guy.”

“Oh, I know he is…and you're great too, I wasn’t ashamed or anything, I just…”

 _Didn’t want you to know I’m a criminal and steal drugs and kill people for a living?_ Ryan looked at him with genuine concern, waiting for him to share his thoughts.

“I don’t know,” Ray sighed. “I guess I really like having my privacy and I never really dated anyone before. I mean, yeah, I dated a couple of guys and girls but it never lasted this long. You and I, we’ve been together for a few months now, and I really like you, and I don’t know why but I want the world to know you’re the best but at the same time, I don’t like talking about my relationships so I just mentioned you once in awhile to my friends like you weren’t a big deal, but you _are_ a big deal. You play Call of Duty with me ‘til morning, you make me pancakes, you forgive me when I’m being a huge jack-ass and–”

Ray was interrupted by Ryan’s lips on his. Surprised at first, he then let himself melt into the kiss, slowly lifting his hand to Ryan’s cheek. They didn’t move after the kiss, foreheads gently touching. Ray couldn’t help but stare at the sand as he felt Ryan’s eyes looking at him.

“You’re not a jack-ass Ray. And it’s okay to want privacy. Sometimes, things don’t go well together and if you think it’d be better if I don’t get involved with your friends at work, it’s fine,” Ryan assured him. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable by offering to spend more time with them. I just thought they looked nice, but if you think those two worlds won’t go well together, it can stay just the two of us. I like you too a lot Ray. I haven’t dated much, I don’t know anything about true love, but I know that as long as I can play games with you ‘til morning and make you pancakes and get flowers…I don’t want anything else.”

He smiled shyly, his eyes locked on Ray’s. They stared at each other for a while and Ray leaped into his arms.

“You’re the best,” he murmured against his skin, holding him tight.

“I’m gonna develop a God complex some day if you keep saying that.”

“I don’t care, it’s true. You’re a God and I don’t know what in the world I did to deserve you.”

“You saved me from an awful Friday night and offered me a Big Mac. You deserve every pancake in the world.”

Ray laughed and let go of Ryan. He wiped his eyes that had gotten watery and sniffed, embarrassed. “Listen, I’m not saying I don’t want you to hang out with Michael and my friends. They’re the best and I’m sure you’d get along with them but… trust me, the least you see them, the better you’ll be.”

Ryan looked at him for a while. “Does it have something to do with your work?”

“Yes.”

There was another silence, and Ryan nodded. “Okay. I trust you.”

He put his arm around Ray and turned back at the sea, a peaceful look on his face. Even if he didn’t ask any more questions, somehow, Ray knew Ryan had figured out his line of work wasn’t exactly lawful.

Ryan had told him after all: he wasn’t stupid.


	6. In Which Geoff and Jack Are Workaholics and Caleb Is a Prick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit shorter than the others but I hope you'll enjoy it as much as the rest of the story :)

Ray had never felt so happy and relaxed in his entire life. He had spent the week-end with Ryan and every second of it was incredibly perfect. Of course, there had been the ‘Jones incident’ but everything had turned out well. It was like every time Ray thought he couldn’t love Ryan more, something happened to prove him wrong. And by now, he was ridiculously in love with Ryan Haywood.

Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and they both had to go to work. After one last breakfast together, Ryan had to head out first, saying he was going to be late for his lecture about something Ray didn’t even know existed, and he had left Ray alone in his apartment. Grateful that Ryan trusted him enough to let him stay at his place without him, Ray cleaned up a bit the living room and the kitchen (they were a mess) and he even left a little note on Ryan’s fridge, telling him he loved him and hoped he had a nice day. Ray felt so fucking cheesy and ridiculous but he couldn’t help it: he had never felt so in love and he had to show it.

He arrived at the warehouse as Michael got out of his car. The Lad grinned when he saw the blissful look on Ray’s face. “Oh god. This is it.”

“What?”

“Now that I’ve met your Sugar Daddy, you won’t stop talking about him.”

Ray scoffed. “No, I won’t.”

“Yeah, right… Well, anyway, if you feel like it, I’m all ears man. Ryan’s a nice guy, Lindsay really liked him.”

“What about you?” Ray asked, curious.

“Looks like a pretty chill dude. I get why you like him. He’s calm, mature but not in a boring way…”

“He is… _extraordinary._ He’s smart, he’s thoughtful, he bakes, he…”

“I thought you didn’t want to talk about him?” Michael teased him as they got in the AH headquarters.

Ray nudged him to get him to shut up and walked to the kitchen where Jack and Geoff already were. They were hunched over some blueprints, but their attention drifted to Michael and Ray as soon as they passed the door.

“Hey boys,” Geoff greeted them with a cheerful tone. “How was your weekend?”

“Great,” the Lads both replied. “Where’s Gavin?” Michael asked.

“I think his weekend was a little bit _too_ great, if you know what I mean,” Geoff mumbled with a grin.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve spent this much time apart,” Jack noted. “Even though it’s only been three days… I’d already started missing you guys after the first.”

“It’s ‘cause we’re family Jack,” Geoff said, putting an arm around the gent’s shoulders. “And we spend _way_ too much time together.”

“Ray and I cheated: we saw each other at the beach.”

“I’M BACK BITCHES.”

They all turned around to look at Gavin as he stood in the doorway. He quickly ran up to Michael and jumped in his arms.

“Micoo! I’ve missed you my boi!”

“Geez, you stink alcohol.”

“Do I? Must be my jacket. I might have dropped a little bit of vodka on it…”

“A little bit?”

“Dan is supposed to come today!” Gavin reminded them as he ignored Michael’s comment. “I haven’t seen him since last time, he’s busy as hell. I think the last time he texted me was to remind us to pay him. Greedy bastard…”

“Before he gets here, I have to show you guys what Jack and I have been working on…” Geoff said, pointing at the blueprints Ray had been looking at for the past ten minutes.

“Is this Pacific Standard?” Ray asked.

“Yep. The Pacific Standard Public Deposit Bank, founded in 1903, Downtown Vinewood,” Geoff specified. “And we are going to rob it.”

“Oh! That’s top! We haven’t done on of those in awhile! Was it Caleb’s idea?”

“It was Jack’s actually. Since we can’t trust that son of a bitch Caleb with anything, I thought it would be better to plan our own heist this time,” Geoff explained.

“When are you planning to do it?” Ray asked.

“Each first Wednesday of the month, there’s an armored truck dropping off money at the bank,” Jack told them. “At first, we only wanted to get in the vault and take as much money as we could, but then Geoff and I thought of something…”

“We’ve been working our asses off to plan out great heists in the past, and lately, RT has been fucking with us _a lot_. We have to get back at them, show off our skills, let them know we’re sick of their bullshit. _So_ ,” Geoff continued, “we thought we could; hijack the armored truck before it gets to the bank; have a team inside to get to the vault; leave with the armored truck and all the money; explode the shit out of the bank.”

The Lads looked at each other, deciding if this plan made sense or not.

“That…looks…AWESOME!” Gavin shouted, jumping around in excitement.

“It’s pretty cool,” Michael agreed, arms crossed, “but how can we be sure RT won’t get the same idea?”

“I’m glad you asked Michael. Jack, can you enlighten our friend?”

“I sure can. We know for a fact RT won’t lay a finger on this bank because Al H. Tummult is the owner.”

There was a silence as Jack and Geoff waited for the Lads’ reactions, grins getting wider on their face as time passed by.

“And who is that?” Ray inquired, confused.

“It’s an anagram,” Jack explained as he took out a piece of paper. “If you scramble the letters back in order, you get…” He scribbled a name on the paper and held it out for the others to see. “Matt Hullum.”

Gavin’s jaw dropped. “No way!”

“Al H. _Tummult_? Seriously? That’s the worst name ever!” Michael cried out. “It’s not even real!”

“Good luck making something out of ‘Hullum’,” Geoff muttered.

“How did you figure this out?” Ray wondered, impressed.

“We noticed something was wrong when we discovered there had never been any serious robberies at this place,” Jack answered. “It was almost like something protected it from everything, and the police didn’t seem to have anything to do with it. When I realized RT had never tried robbing it but had no problem with blowing up everything else, I figured the place probably meant something to them…”

“I looked into Al H. Tummult’s files to see if he had any affiliation with RT,” Geoff continued. “His file was clean as fuck…which was way too suspicious considering Tummult’s a businessman from fucking Los Santos.”

“So we figured he was fake and we tried everything to discover who Tummult really was,” Jack went on. “I was just fooling around, trying to find an answer when I realized what the name meant. Since Hullum is RT’s provider, it makes sense he would be the one taking care of their money.”

“And now, it’s time to teach them a lesson,” Geoff smiled. “If you fuck with us, _you’re gonna get wrecked_.”

The Lads stared at the two others for a while, processing everything that had been said. Gavin slowly started clapping his hands.

“That was…brilliant!” he said, amazed at Geoff and Jack’s work.

“Damn, you guys had the time to think about all of this this morning?”

“We might’ve worked on it during the weekend,” Jack admitted with a guilty smile.

“You two really can’t take a vacation, can you?” Michael sighed.

“The crew’s our family, and the family was getting bored,” Geoff pointed out. “We had to plan something.”

“This heist is going to be awesome!” Gavin cheered. “What are the teams? What do I do? Am I with Michael?”

“Easy there Gavvers. We haven’t thought about it yet, we wanted to plan the rest of it with you guys.”

“So that leaves us with two days to plan everything out… It should be enough,” Ray supposed.

There were three knocks on the door and Gavin rushed over to the living room to answer it. “It’s Dan! It’s Dan! It’s Da–” It wasn’t Dan. “ _Caleb_? What are you doing here?”

“Oh, you know, just wondering what you guys are up to,” the man shrugged. “Can I come in?”

Gavin looked over at Geoff, wondering if he should slam the door at Caleb’s face or let him in. Geoff gave him a quick nod and Jack hid the blueprints as Caleb walked in.

“Caleb Denecour,” Geoff grumbled as he went to greet him. “You motherfucker.”

“Hey, hey, hey… what have I done now?” Caleb wondered, ‘hurt’ by Geoff’s harsh words.

“Let me refresh your memory… Los Santos Port. About a week ago. Rings a bell?”

“Oh yeah, it was drugs, wasn’t it?” Caleb recalled. “I heard RT kinda hijacked that mission though…”

“I wonder who let them know about the deal,” Geoff muttered, unamused.

“What can I say? They can be pretty convincing when they need information,” Caleb said, holding up his hands. “And by that I mean they pay better.”

“Ray got fucked you know?” Geoff informed him. “Luna blew up his tires and he almost broke his back.”

“It must’ve been a sight to see.”

“Shut up,” Ray snapped, getting annoyed. “What do you want Caleb?”

“I haven’t heard of you guys since that deal. Don’t you need any missions? I’ve got some for you.”

“So that you can give the same info to RT and double-cross us again?” Geoff scoffed. “I don’t think so.”

“We’re already onto something else anyway,” Gavin added. “We don’t need you.”

“Gavin, shut up!”

“Something else?” Caleb raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“Like hell we’re gonna tell you,” Michael groaned.

“Aw, come on guys, let me help you out! I’m sorry about last time. It won’t happen again, I promise. Just give me a chance to redeem myself, you won’t regret it,” Caleb pleaded, surprisingly sincere.

“No,” Geoff simply said. “We’re sick of your bullshit. If all RT’s got to do to squeeze info out of you is to wave enough money under your nose, we don’t want you around us.”

“Hey, I helped you fuck with their plans more than once!” Caleb reminded them. “I admit it, lately I’ve been mostly helping them out but we can turn this thing around…”

“How?” Jack asked.

Caleb shrugged, a smirk slowly making its way on his face. “How much are you willing to pay?”

Geoff cut him off. “That’s it. Get out now. If I ever see your smug face again, I’ll fucking kill you, am I making myself clear?”

“Okay, okay, I’m leaving!” Caleb retreated, his hands up to show he didn’t mean any harm. “Let me know if you change your mind…”

“We won’t.”

Geoff pushed him outside the apartment and closed the door behind him. The boys kept quiet for a while, looking at each other and wondering if they had done the right thing. Caleb wasn’t really that threatening, but having him against them could turn out to be a royal pain in the ass. Hopefully, it wouldn’t…

“I need a drink,” Geoff finally said. “Let’s have a break, we’ll go back to the heist later…”

Jack followed him in the kitchen, worried the combination of anger and alcohol wouldn’t make such a great combo. Ray slowly sat down in the living room, trying to stay calm. Gavin and Michael joined him, the latter letting out a frustrated sigh.

“Fucking Caleb. If only he wasn’t such a jack-ass…”

“Whatever, we don’t need him,” Ray mumbled. “He’s not the only one to know his way around. We can always find someone else. Someone better.”

“But RT's got a hold on almost every other freelancer in town.”

“We still have Dan. And Lindsay.”

“Yeah…”

Michael turned his head around to look at Gavin. He nudged him to bring him back to reality. “Hey boi. What’s going on? You lost your voice?”

Gavin looked up to him before shaking his head. “Nah… I just… I’m worried about Dan. He’s usually there on time.”

“Hey, maybe he forgot he had an appointment,” Michael figured.

“But he never forgets!”

“Well maybe he did this time. We’ll see him soon enough, don’t worry.”

Gavin pouted, not convinced. “I don’t know. I feel like something’s not right…”

Before Michael could add anything else, Geoff called them back to work on their plan. And man, did they have work to do…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your feedback, and feel free to let me know what you think happens next!


	7. In Which Sticky Bombs Aren't so Fun after All

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I took two weeks to get this chapter done ((sorryyy)). I knew what I wanted to do but I had a hard time trying to put it into words. Also, this isn’t going to be like the other chapters since it’s a heist. There’ll be a little bit of everyone’s point of view so you can understand what goes on (or not). ***I had to edit the previous chapters where the boys are talking over the radio, I decided to put the dialogues of those who aren’t in the same room in italics***

They had had two days to think of the greatest heist and they had used every second of it. Nobody bothered going home while they worked on their plan. It was like they were having some sort of giant slumber party, except instead of talking about crushes and booze, they talked about explosives and guns. They had memorized every inch of the Pacific Standard and that bank was going to go down in flames. Literally.

The plan was pretty simple once everyone knew what they had to do and _when_ they had to do it. Michael, Geoff and Gavin were ‘Team Alpha’ and they were the ones who would actually rob the bank. After taking care of the security, they would split up: Geoff would go to the vault as Michael would keep an eye on the hostages (they were going to use them as human shields to escape). As for Gavin, he would go around the place and fill it with explosives. Meanwhile, Jack had to take care of the passengers of the armored truck and go at the bank to pick Team Alpha up. At least one third of it. Michael and Gavin had their own escape car and, if things went as planned, each vehicle would leave opposite ways with the money and they would meet up at the Sandy Shores Airfield.

As for Ray, all he had to do was to distract anyone who tried to stop Team Alpha. With his trusty rifle and his new bulletproof tires, he would keep the police off of Team Alpha’s ass and be out of the city before they even knew what hit them. Once the bank would turn into fireworks, no cops would bother going after them: they would be too busy dealing with the fire.

And RT would be busy crying their eyes out.

***

It was Wednesday. A day that would go down in History. Well, at least Los Santos’ History. After spending two days straight confined at the warehouse with his fellow teammates, Ray had asked Geoff for few hours to himself before the heist. He loved his friends and all, but goddamn did he need a break from all the squawking and their drunken ass. Of course, Geoff had understood and simply told him to be in position at least half an hour before the heist. That left Ray with plenty of time to crash at his apartment and get some rest. He was feeling tired but he knew he couldn’t let himself sleep. He had already missed a heist in the past by not waking up in time and he wasn’t going to make that mistake twice.

He had completed a few levels on Tetris Ultimate when his phone buzzed. Figuring it was Gavin texting him, Ray let out a sigh and reached into his pocket, his eyes still locked on the screen. He paused his game to glance quickly at his phone.

_‘Ryan – 12:39PM : Movies at my place tonight?’_

Fuck. Why was he always showing up when he had stuff to do?

_‘Ray – 12:39PM : I caaaant. work ;(‘_

_‘Ryan – 12:40PM : Darn it.’_

Ray laughed out loud, imagining Ryan’s voice in his head.

_‘Ryan – 12:40PM : I’m gonna need to have a word with your boss. You’re working too much.’_

_‘Ray – 12:40PM : lol sure, u wanna intimidate him?’_

_‘Ryan – 12:40PM : Amongst other things.’_

_‘Ryan – 12:40PM : Anyway.’_

_‘Ryan – 12:41PM : Be safe. Come by whenever you can. xx’_

Ray smiled at his phone for a while before answering a simple ‘ _love you’_ and he put his phone back in his pocket. Spending time apart was starting to become a real pain in the ass… Surely, there was an easy way to fix this: he could move in with Ryan. But Ray wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. When he thought about it, he couldn’t think of anything better than spending every night at Ryan’s side and wake up every morning in his arms. But it was risky. He hadn’t talked about Ryan to anyone else than his crew but he knew he couldn’t keep his relationship a secret forever. Someone along the way was going to fuck something up and Ray didn’t want anything bad to happen to Ryan. He couldn’t take the risk of him getting hurt. Of course, if they lived together, it would be easier for Ray to protect him if someone ever threatened to hurt Ryan… but still.

Ray figured he’d ask Michael what to do.

***

Jack was parked at Legion Square, where the armored truck was about to get filled with cash. The heist hadn’t started yet, Geoff probably going over the plan with Michael and Gavin to make sure everything was crystal clear. Meanwhile, Jack listened to the radio, trying to calm his nerves as he waited for Geoff’s signal. He wasn’t nervous per se but he couldn’t help but be a little fidgety, playing drums on the wheel with his fingers as he waited for the armored truck to head out.

 _“How’s it looking over there, Bravo 1?”_ Geoff’s voice finally asked in his ear.

“They’re still loading it. Gonna be on the move soon.”

_“We’re going in, in a few minutes. Be ready.”_

_“WE’RE GONNA BLOW THIS BITCH UP- Ow! Michael!”_

Jack chuckled, gently shaking his head.

“Good luck Alpha 1…”

***

“Why’d you hit me for?” Gavin squealed, looking at Michael with a betrayed look on his face.

“You fucking blew up everyone’s ears, idiot.”

“You mashed up my arm!”

“ _You mashed up my arm!_ ” Michael mimicked him as he shoved the Brit back in his seat.

“Stop fucking around and get out of the car assholes,” Geoff cut short their fit. “Don’t make me regret taking you two with me…” He put a finger on his earpiece. “The heist is on, I repeat, the heist is _on_.”

They got out of the car they had parked across the street and made their way towards the bank. Gavin looked around and waved at the building behind them. He got a ‘ _Hey Vav_ ’ in response as they got inside the bank, blood racing through their veins. The bank wasn’t crowed, and aside from a few customers, there were only employees. Michael looked over at Geoff, who gave him a quick nod. The three men parted ways, Michael and Gavin staying near the entrance as Geoff went further in. He shot two times in the air to get everyone’s attention and people immediately started screaming. Some ran to the doors, where Michael and Gavin stood, guns out, making sure no one would get out.

“This is a robbery!” Geoff yelled. “Keep your hands where we can see them and get down on the floor!” he ordered as he gestured to the hostages to gather up in a corner.

A security guard drew out his gun and dropped dead on the floor before he could even aim for Geoff. Three other guards came rushing down the hallway and managed to fire two shots at them before Michael gunned two of them down as well. He aimed at the last guy, waiting for him to make the first move.

“You wanna shoot? Go ahead, fuckhead!” Michael shouted. “Try me!”

The guy put down his weapon, slowly kneeling down on the floor, hands up in the air.

“Yeah, that’s right…”

 _“Alpha 1: I’ve got the truck!”_ Jack announced on the radio.

“Perfect! I’m going to the vault, we’ll be out soon,” Geoff replied. He turned to Gavin. “Charlie 2, do your thing.”

“On it!”

***

Police cars turned around the corner few minutes later. Someone must’ve pressed a panic button or some other shit. But that wasn’t going to help them. Lying down at the top of a small building, Ray had been watching everything through his scope for the last thirty minutes. He was focused, ready to shoot through some cop car tires and scare off anyone who would try to get in the bank. He fired four shots at the cops, forcing them to stop their car. One of them did a 360 and blocked the traffic, allowing Ray to take care of the cops coming in the other way.

“There are cops everywhere guys,” he warned the rest of his team, shooting a few bullets at two cops getting close to the entrance.

 _“I’m almost in the vault, can you hold them off a little longer?”_ Geoff requested.

“Yeah…but there’s no way Bravo 1 can get to you: the street’s crowded.”

_“Oh, I’ll make way, don’t– oh shit!”_

Ray frowned as Geoff’s voice picked up again. _“Bravo 1, everything all right?”_ No response. _“Bravo 1?”_

 

***

The armored truck’s only passenger was the driver. Jack had no trouble at all taking the advantage and knocking out the guy. Not wanting to raise any suspicions, he hadn’t gotten rid of the man. He simply tied him up and put him on the passenger seat, as Geoff had told him to. The guy was small and far from being muscular: he wasn’t a threat. Or at least, that’s what Jack thought. But when he felt the guy’s fist against his head, it didn’t take him long to realize what mistake he had done.

_“Bravo 1, what the fuck is going on?”_

“Son of a bitch!” Jack yelled as he tried to push away the guy. He turned the wheel to avoid a collision with another car and ducked as the man threw another punch at him. He felt the guy’s hand on his throat seconds later, and he soon started gasping for air, flailing his arm at the guy desperately to try and get him off of his neck. Jack slammed the brakes, and the guy hit his head on the windshield, finally letting him breathe. He pulled out his gun to shoot the driver but froze when he saw the remote in his hand.

“You shoot me, and everything goes boom,” the guy warned him.

His busted lip filling his mouth with blood, Jack stared at the man, gun still aimed to his head. Why the hell did this truck driver put a bomb _on his own truck?_

***

“Bravo 1, report! What the hell is going on?” Geoff kept on yelling as Jack’s radio stayed silent.

Michael was still at the entrance, keeping an eye on the hostages as Gavin ran in the back of the bank, looking for a good spot to place his bombs. He wanted it to be a good show and had brought loads of explosives. That place was going to turn into beautiful fireworks, that was for sure.

Gavin pushed away a plastic plant and frowned as he saw a sticky bomb already set on the wall.

“We better get the hell out of here soon,” Michael shouted somewhere behind him. “Cops are getting closer.”

“I’m almost in, just give me a second!” Geoff snapped.

“Uhh…Alpha 1…” Gavin started, slowly backing away from the unknown bomb.

“Bravo 1, do you copy??”

 _“I won’t be able to keep the cops off your ass much longer!”_ Ray warned them in their ear. _“They’re on their way to get me. Do you want me to hold them off or…”_

“Stay in position Brownman! Once the bank goes down, we’ll use the blast as a distraction… Just– be ready!”

“Alpha 1…there’s something wrong…” Gavin continued as he walked backwards in the main hall. He bumped onto a desk and almost fell down. A small beeping came from under desk, slow but steady. He kneeled down and saw another bomb glued under the desk. Gavin’s blood ran cold as he thought those probably weren’t the only bombs in the building. “Oh god…”

 _“I lost the truck!”_ Jack finally answered. _“The driver_ – _he’s… He blew up the truck!”_

Gavin heard Geoff swore from the vault as he slowly stood up. “You lost the truck?!”

 _“I’m sorry Alpha, I_ –”

“GEOFF! There’s something wrong!” Gavin yelled as he ran across the bank to get to the vault. “There are bombs everywhere Geoff, and I didn’t place ‘em!” The vault’s door opened at the same time, revealing a stack of sticky bombs just lying on the ground. Geoff turned around to look at Gavin.

“Fuck…”

***

 _“ABORT MISSION!”_ Geoff suddenly yelled in everyone’s ears. _“GET TO THE SHORES **NOW**. DO NOT_ – _”_

The bank went up in flames before Geoff could say anything else. Ray felt his heart drop as he jumped to his feet. It wasn’t supposed to blow up. Not now. The guys were supposed to get out first, they were supposed to be far from the blast when it came off. They were supposed to walk out of there **alive**. Ray wanted to scream, scream everybody’s names, but he knew it was already too late. Something had gone horribly wrong. And the cops were already on his tail.

 _“What’s going on? Alpha 1, are you still there?”_ Jack’s voice asked.

Tears blurring out his vision, Ray ran down the fire escape, pressing a finger against his ear. “Go to the shores Jack.”

 _“But_ –”

“ **Just do it**.”

Ray jumped down on the floor and ran to his motorcycle. Sirens were blasting off everywhere, cops, fire trucks, ambulances… He needed to get the hell out of there, and fast. Ray raced through the maze of alleyways and hit the highway, slaloming between cars. Jack kept asking questions in his ear but he didn’t have the heart to tell what had happened. He still couldn’t believe it himself. The flames kept dancing in front of his eyes and Ray felt sick knowing his friends had turn into barbecue…

 _“We’re okay,”_ Geoff’s voice sighed in the radio. Ray almost lost control of his bike as he heard him speak. _“We got out, we’re trying to lose the cops now… We’ll meet you at the waypoint. Just…don’t stop and be careful.”_

As much as Ray felt relieved his friends weren’t dead, he couldn’t help but wonder what the fuck had happened. First, the armored truck blowing up and now, the bank? Gavin couldn’t fuck up this bad, could he? Focused on the road, Ray drove at full speed to the Sandy Shores Airfield. He got there first and stayed on his motorcycle as he waited for the others, ready to get the fuck out of there if any cop showed up. A red Sedan pulled in few minutes later, and Jack came out to meet him, looking like shit.

“What happened to you?” Ray asked him as he got closer.

“I’ll explain everything later… What happened to the others?”

“You should ask them yourself,” Ray replied, pointing at the black SUV coming their way.

The car slowed down next to them, and Team Alpha got out, their clothes covered in bloodstains. Before they could even say anything, Ray went up to Michael and Gavin, grabbing both boys and hugging them tightly.

“What’s going on?” Gavin asked, barely able to speak out.

“I thought you guys were dead,” Ray finally managed to say as Michael gently patted his back.

“It was a close call,” Geoff admitted, “but you won’t get rid of us so easily.”

“What the hell happened down there?” Jack asked as Ray stepped away from the Lads. “You guys look like you just got out of hell!”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much it,” Michael grumbled, spitting blood out of his mouth.

“The bank was filled with explosives,” Gavin explained. “Not _my_ explosives. _Other_ explosives.”

“What? What do you mean _other explosives_?” Jack frowned. “Someone had already robbed the bank?”

“Not just robbed,” Geoff groaned. “They turned the bank into a deathtrap. The vault was filled with explosives, and Gavin found sticky bombs hanging out around. They knew we were coming and they didn’t want us to walk out.”

“Who’s _they_?” Jack asked. “RT?”

“Who else could it be?” Michael said.

“Why would RT blow up their own bank?” Jack seemed confused. “We’ve been through this a hundred times Geoff: we **knew** RT wouldn’t attack it! That’s why we planned the heist in the first place!”

“I know… I don’t understand it either… But what about you and the armored truck? What the fuck happened there?”

“Yeah, one minute you said you had the truck and the next, you’d lost it!” Gavin exclaimed.

“I had it,” Jack swore. “Everything was going fine, and then the guy woke up and started throwing punches at me…”

“Why didn’t you just shoot him?” Michael asked.

“He had filled the truck with explosives. It would’ve killed the both of us.”

“How’d you get out?”

“The guy wasn’t working alone… Some dude pulled over to take him and I got out of the truck as soon as I could. When everything exploded, I was already out, and then I lost contact with Geoff soon after that. I hijacked a car and got here as fast as I could…”

“The driver was working with someone else?” Geoff repeated, confused.

“I’m guessing he’s not really a truck driver,” Jack mumbled.

“Did he look familiar? Was he working for RT?”

“I don’t know. If he is, he’s new, ‘cause I haven’t seen him before.”

“How could they have known?” Geoff kneeled down as he tried to make some sense out of everything. “We worked on it for two days, we haven’t seen anyone since–” He stopped talking, raising his head.

“What?” Gavin asked, curious. “What is it?”

“Motherfucker… I knew I should’ve killed him when I had the chance…”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Caleb,” Geoff said as he stood up. “He barged in when we started planning this whole thing. He must’ve saw something and told the others about it.”

“How could he have known we wanted to hijack the armored truck as well?” Jack wondered.

“I don’t know. He must’ve figured it out somehow… Oh god, he is so fucking dead the next time I see him.” He was still swearing when he was cut mid-sentence by his phone ringing. He took it out of his pocket, not bothering to look who it was before answering. “What is it?” His eyes became dark as he listened to the voice on the phone. Gavin looked at the others, asking them what was going on even though they were all as clueless as him to what was happening. Geoff finally spoke up again. “Sure. We’ll meet you there.”

“Who was that?” Gavin asked as Geoff hung up.

“Gus.”

“ _Gus?_ What did _he_ want?”

“Emergency meeting at their headquarters,” Geoff told them as he got in the SUV’s passenger seat. “Hope you guys didn’t have any plans: this is going to be a _long_ night.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your feedback, as always! <3
> 
> Story time. ((If you haven't seen the AH heists videos and don't want to be spoiled, don't read this note))
> 
> I just finished listening to all the Minecraft lets plays and I’m slowly working my way up in the gta v lets plays and when I started this story I had only watched the first heist (which was fucking great). I listened to Gavin’s and Ryan’s last week. And I listened to Michael’s two days ago and omg. It’s the same fucking bank I chose for the heist?? And in the lets play, he says as a joke that it’s closed on Wednesdays, and in the story the crew’s heist is on a Wednesday and holy fuck how. I actually planned the same heist as Michael without even knowing, this is incredible HAHA


	8. In Which RT and AH Have a Friendly Chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you know: Monty is mentionned in this chapter. He has two lines. I wrote it prior to his death and from now on, I'll try to mention him only if necessary. And I'll put up warnings at the beginning of the chapters in case you don't wanna stumble accross his name unprepared.

Rooster Teeth’s headquarters were located in Paleto Bay, across Blaine County. They were settled in a grain farm Hullum had bought years ago, and the place was far from being filled with crops. Ray had only been there a couple of times, mostly when Geoff and Gus had decided to make the truce. They usually had fun over some beer (or lemonade) and video games (or real guns). The farm was huge and they didn’t have to worry about noise complaints from their neighbors. The grain farm wasn’t the only thing Hullum had bought: the county sheriff made sure no one would ask questions about their activities if they ever heard gunshots and what not in the middle of the night. And with Barbara, Miles and Gavin under the same roof, things could get pretty wild. But somehow, Ray doubted this meeting was going to be as fun.

The others had all jumped in Michael’s car as Ray drove by them on his bike. It didn’t take them much time to get to RT’s base and they soon stopped in front of the main gates, waiting for someone to let them in. Ray threw his middle finger at the camera pointing at them until the gates creaked and slowly opened. The parking lot was mostly just dirt, and Ray immediatly recognized Miles’ car. He parked his bike next to it and, as he wondered what he could do to it (should he break a window or pop his tires?), a police car pulled up behind Michael’s car.

“What the hell,” Ray mumbled as he started backing up towards the farm. The others had just got out of the car, and Geoff hadn’t even noticed the cops yet when one of the officers tackled him against the car, gripping tightly at his shirt.

“Jesus fucking Christ Geoff! I told you not to blow anything up!” Burnie yelled, furious. He couldn’t care less that Michael and Gavin were pointing guns at him. “We had an _agreement_ : **we** stay out of your way, **you** spare civilians. And when I _specifically_ told you not to blow anything up, **you fucking chose to blow up a fucking _bank_! ** There were PEOPLE in there, Geoff! PEOPLE DIED! What the hell were you thinking?”

“It wasn’t us,” Geoff swore, unfazed.

“What?” Burnie squinted, not letting go of Geoff’s shirt.

“It wasn’t us. We were planning on taking down the bank, but someone beat us to it.”

There was a moment of silence while the two men glared at each other, one as calm as the other was livid. Joel spoke up, putting a hand on his partner’s shoulder. “I think he’s telling the truth Burnie.”

The man stood still for a while before letting Geoff go, taking a step back as Jack gestured to Michael and Gavin to lower their guns. “What the hell are you doing here anyway?” Geoff asked, straightening his shirt.

“Honestly, I don’t even know,” Burnie groaned. “Gus called us. Said he needed to talk. We were kind of busy ‘cause, you know, _someone_ just turned Downtown Vinewood into a firework convention but…he insisted.”

“Said it was an emergency,” Joel added.

“Were they the ones to blow up the bank?” Burnie asked.

“We highly doubt it,” Jack replied.

“Then what the fuck does he want from us?”

“They might happen to own Pacific Standard… He probably wants you to keep him from killing us,” Geoff figured.

“You know I’ll probably end up helping him beat you guys down, right?”

“Oh, I know.”

Geoff walked past Burnie and led everyone to the back door, the only one that was actually usable. Most of the doors around the building were condemned or locked. At first, it looked like anyone could try to sneak in but with the shitload of security cameras surrounding the place, no one could _possibly_ do it without getting their ass kicked by Blaine. If you wanted to get in, you had to be invited. It was as simple as that.

Geoff knocked four times on the door and waited patiently for it to open, trying his best to ignore the angry glare Burnie was giving him. A moment later, they were greeted by Miles’ warm smile.

“Guys! You’re here! It’s been so long! Come on in–” He bent down and let out a loud groan of pain, his hand covering his bloody nose.

“That was for my bike,” Ray mumbled before kicking him in the knee and sending him down on the floor. “And that was for _me_.”

He held out a hand to help Miles get back up. The man looked at him, suspicious about his sudden change of mood. “You good? Got it all out of your system?”

“I think so, yeah.” Miles took his hand and Ray pulled him back on his feet. “It’s good to see you too man,” Ray finally said as he patted him on the back.

“I hurt. Everywhere,” Miles whined as he stepped aside to let everyone in.

“Should’ve seen it coming,” Michael chuckled as he walked past him.

Miles shrugged and closed the door behind Jack before leading the way to the conference room, which really was just a big-ass lounge. There were four long tables and some chairs scattered around the place. The tables were aligned in front of a counter, separating a small kitchen from the rest of the lounge. In the back of the room were set a bunch of monitors covering most of the wall. Their screens were black but they were probably still on, breaking into firewalls and researching info.

The RT crew were all gathered around the counter. Blaine was leaning against a pillar, arms crossed, as he listened to Barbara’s story. Arryn was sitting on the counter, focused as well on the blonde, while Gus was making himself a drink. Monty and Jordan were there as well, one sleeping at a table while the latter awkwardly stood next to Blaine. Although they were freelancers, they worked so often for RT they were practically considered part of the team, much to Geoff’s dismay. Monty could get his hands on any kind of explosives and his expertise in ‘pyrotechnics’ could turn a simple heist into a real show. As for Jordan, he wasn’t much of a fighter but he could get inside anyone’s computer. And that was hell of a lot helpful when you needed to infiltrate military facilities.

As soon as Jordan saw Gavin, his face lit up and he ran towards him, leaping in his arms.

“Gavin!”

“Jesus!” the Brit shouted as he caught his friend.

“AH is here,” Miles bluntly announced, his voice muffled by the hand covering his nose. “And Burnie. And Joel.”

“Oh my god, what happened?” Arryn jumped down the counter, instantly at Miles’ side.

“Ray,” Miles simply said. “I deserved it,” he added when he saw Blaine roll up his sleeves.

“Okay, friendly reunion, that’s great and all, but why the fuck are we here?” Burnie asked as he moved away from Gavin and Jordan while Michael tried to get the man off his boi.

“And can we have a beer?” Joel added.

“You’re here ‘cause we need to get things straight,” Gus said. “And no: you can’t have a beer.”

Joel pouted as Geoff crossed his arms. “So… What do you wanna know Sorola?”

“You knew the bank was ours, correct?”

“Yeah, we did.”

“Tummult is a really fucking lame name by the way,” Michael pointed out.

“It’s awesome!” Barbara disagreed.

“Let me guess…you came up with it?”

“Actually, I did,” Arryn claimed as she fixed up her boyfriend. “As a joke. And Barb loved it.”

“That generally means it’s a bad idea,” Michael reminded her.

“So you guys finally picked up on it I see,” Gus sighed.

“We did.”

“Who the fuck is Tummult?” Burnie asked, confused.

“It’s Matt. He owns the Pacific Standard under another name Arryn and Barbara came up with,” Gus explained.

“You must be pretty pissed AH tried to rob it then,” Joel said, slowly making his way to a pack of beer next to Monty.

“Oh, I was pissed when I heard about it, yeah,” Gus assured him. “But I don’t think things went out exactly as planned, right Geoff?”

“You know about the explosives?”

“I didn’t put them there, if that’s what you ask. I wouldn’t have blown up my own bank.”

“Then how do you know it wasn’t us?”

Monty abruptly straighten up, startling Joel who had just got his hands on a bottle of beer. “Your crew uses primarily sticky bombs from Ammu-Nation. For a blast as big as the one at the bank, you would’ve needed at least fifty bombs.”

“We’ve checked Ammu-Nation records and found no transactions under any of your aliases,” Jordan told them. “The most recent transaction was a bulletproof vest by TAFKAR.”

Ray glanced at Miles as Arryn kissed him on the cheek to comfort him. “You’ve heard it. Now try and shoot me bitch.”

“I’m good for now, thanks.”

“The only person with access to this much explosives is Monty,” Gus went on, ignoring Miles and Ray’s interaction. “And he wouldn’t have done it.”

“You don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” Monty simply said.

“So if it wasn’t Achievement Hunter…and it wasn’t Monty…then who attacked your piggy bank?” Joel wondered, taking a sip of his beer.

“That’s why I called all of you.” Gus leaned over the counter, a serious look on his face. “I think something big is going on.”

“Something big?” Burnie reiterated. “God, please tell me this is not what I’m thinking…”

“We might have another crew in town.”

Gus’ announcement was greeted with dead silence that lasted for few seconds.

“Goddammit,” Burnie sighed, his head falling on his chest. “Weren’t you guys supposed to, you know, make sure that kind of thing wouldn’t happen?”

“Yeah, aren’t you taking down every crook and drug dealer in town?” Joel pointed out. “There can’t be a new crew if there are no men to be in it, right?”

“Well, we must’ve missed some scumbags ‘cause I think there might be a new one.”

“I think Gus is right,” Jack started, unsure of what he had in mind. “I– I had to steal an armored truck for the heist and the guy driving it wasn’t actually the driver I think. He was working with someone else. And the truck was filled with explosives too, probably the same bombs that were at the bank, waiting for us.”

“What did the guy look like?” Jordan asked.

“He had light brown hair and brown eyes. He wasn’t really tall and kinda chubby actually… I didn’t have time to get a better look at him; he got away with his partner.”

“Brown hair and brown eyes,” Gus summed up. “That’s vague as shit man. It could be _anyone_.”

“I think Arryn and I can be ruled out.”

“Yeah, no shit Barb,” Blaine scoffed.

“We could take a look at the traffic cams,” Jordan suggested.

“You could always try, but I don’t think you’ll get a clear image,” Jack sighed.

“Where did you get the truck?”

“Around Legion Square.”

Jordan mumbled a determined ‘ _on it’_ and walked over to the monitors to get a look at the city surveillance system.

“And even if there is a new crew, that doesn’t explain why they knew we were going to attack _that_ bank _today_ and hijack _that_ armored truck,” Jack pointed out.

“Oh, I know damn well who could’ve told them…” Geoff groaned.

Jordan spoke out. “Someone’s at the door.”

“Who?”

“Caleb.”

Geoff’s reaction was instantaneous. Before Gus could even say anything, the Gent had ran out of the room, ready to beat the shit out of Caleb’s ass. “Geoff, wait!” Ray yelled, going after him. Geoff had already swung the door open and pulled Caleb in by the collar of his shirt when everyone finally caught up to him.

“What the hell is going on?” Caleb cried out before Geoff shoved him against the wall.

“You know exactly what the hell is going on! **YOU** **_FUCKING_** **TRAITOR**!”

“Geoff, calm down!” Ray started.

“I AM CALM.”

“What the fuck did I do this time!”

“YOU FUCKING SOLD US. AGAIN. YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Caleb swore.

“LIAR! You’re a fucking **liar**!” Geoff spat as he knocked Caleb’s head on the wall. “You almost had my boys killed _twice_.”

“Let him go Geoff…” Burnie tried to break them apart but Geoff pushed him away.

“I didn’t do it,” Caleb kept repeating.

Geoff stared at him for few seconds, completely still. His eyes were filled with anger and his knuckles were white as he pulled at Caleb’s shirt. The world had seemed to have stopped for a moment when Geoff finally moved again. He punched Caleb right in the jaw, sending the young man down on the floor.

“Geoff, that’s enough!” Burnie snapped.

Before the officer could help Caleb up, Geoff pulled out a gun and pointed it at the younger man. Caleb’s eyes went wide as he stared at the barrel of the gun, his mouth dripping blood.

“Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn’t pull the trigger,” the Gent grunted, giving Caleb the ultimate death-stare.

“Geoff, put the gun down,” Burnie warned him, his own weapon pointed at his old friend.

“Geoff, you’re being unreasonable,” Jack intervened as well, trying to stay calm.

“Shut up. All of you. I wanna hear what the fucker has to say. I know you told our plan to whoever attacked the bank. I know you did, _don’t try to fucking trick me_ –”

“I didn’t, I swear,” Caleb sighed. His body tensed up when Geoff’s grip tighten around the trigger. “I swear to god Geoff, I didn’t tell anything to anyone! I knew you guys were planning a heist but I had no idea where, I swear Geoff, I swear!”

“He couldn’t have seen the blueprints Geoff, I hid everything as soon as he walked in,” Jack reminded him.

“Maybe you weren’t fast enough, maybe he saw…”

“Geoff, **put the gun down**. **Now.** ”

But Geoff wouldn’t listen. He just stood still, gun pointed straight at Caleb’s head, and his blood boiling with anger. “What are you doing here anyway? Wanted to make sure you had wiped us off the map?”

“I came here ‘cause your HQ was empty…and I thought RT had killed you guys.”

“Sadly, no,” Gus sighed. “The Pacific Standard was ours. We wouldn’t have put explosives in it.”

“What?” Caleb looked sincerely surprised. “Then who did? …Gavin?”

The Brit squawked. “I wouldn’t have blown up my entire team! I wouldn’t have screwed up _this_ bad!”

“Then what the hell happened?” Caleb asked, confused.

“We think it might be a new crew,” Blaine told him.

“A new crew… But I haven’t seen any new faces in the business recently.”

“We’re trying to find them through the city surveillance system. Well… _Jordan_ is trying to find them,” Gus corrected himself. “Since Jack can’t give us a good description of the guy.”

“You saw one of them?”

“Yeah. Brown hair, brown eyes. He was kinda small. About…5’5’’ maybe,” Jack guessed.

“That can literally be anyone.”

“I know,” Gus groaned.

Everything went silent and Joel slowly walked up to Geoff, who hadn’t moved an inch throughout the whole conversation. He gently reached to Geoff’s weapon and took it away from him, exchanging it with his bottle beer. Without breaking eye contact with Caleb, Geoff took a sip, and Burnie finally lowered his gun.

“So…you believe me?” Caleb asked, trying to control the shaking of his voice.

Geoff squinted slightly before offering a hand to Caleb. “Yeah, I guess.” He waited for Caleb to take his hand and he pulled the man back on his feet.

“So what do we do about this new crew?” Gus asked.

“You take them down,” Burnie said. “I have enough on my hands with you two in town, I don’t need any more drama.”

“We’ll try not to make a mess,” Gus promised.

“You planning on taking them out all by yourself?” Michael chimed in.

“What are you suggesting?”

“We could work together. It’s not just _your_ town after all. Plus, Jack’s the one to have actually seen one of the guys.”

“I think he gave us all the info he had. We’ll handle it. They blew up _our_ bank.”

“And they tried to kill us, so I think we both have enough reasons to all want them dead,” Michael wrapped up.

“I can look around for some more info about that new crew,” Caleb offered. “Someone must’ve heard something about them.”

“It’d be nice to all work together for once,” Miles cheered.

“Yeah,” Ray agreed. “We won’t steal the other’s jobs and we won’t shoot each other. It’ll be like we’re on a truce– _oh wait_.” He gave Miles a cold stare.

“You said we were **even**!” Miles shouted as he pointed his bloody nose.

“So that’s what happened to you,” Caleb mumbled as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

“Achievement Hunters have such an uncivilized way of settling their arguments,” Arryn commented as Barbara laughed.

“And Rooster Teeth have an uncivilized way of fucking killing me,” Ray replied.

“Okay, this is going to turn into a ‘ _we’re better than you’_ contest again,” Burnie sighed as he stepped back from the crews. “Joel and I have stuff to do, like saving people, so we’re gonna get going now.”

“Can we count on your help to find the new guys?” Gus asked.

“No. Not at all,” Burnie refused. “We’ll stay out of your way and we’ll cover your tracks if you get into trouble, but that is **_it_**.”

“Sounds good enough,” Blaine said.

“Yeah whatever… See you later, knuckleheads.” Burnie waved at them without even looking behind him as he walked out and Joel smiled politely at the two crews. He bumped into Burnie as he was about to go through the door. His partner turned around, a tired look on his face as he stared at everyone. “No more explosives,” Burnie begged them. “Please.”

“Boo,” Monty replied, a small grin on his lips.

Burnie flipped him off and finally left, followed by a confused Joel. Geoff took another swig of beer, closing the door behind them. “Still don’t understand how someone could’ve known we were going to attack the bank…”

“Maybe you’ve got bugs,” Caleb guessed.

“Bugs?” Gavin repeated.

“You know…mics. Maybe someone put mics at your HQ to hear what you guys were up to.”

Geoff’s eyes went dark. “ _Are you telling me you_ –”

“Jesus Christ Geoff, I’m not saying **_I_** did it!” Caleb exclaimed. “Why are you always so fucking pissed at me, geez… _I’m just saying_ , if there’s really a new crew in town, maybe they found out where you guys were hiding and wanted to know what you were up to. But...I guess I’m wrong. You guys always have someone at this place, they couldn’t have had the time to put any bugs around.”

“Well, we did take a weekend off last week,” Ray thought out loud.

Geoff brushed off the theory with a shrug. “I would’ve had known if anyone had broke in. No one could’ve got past the security system without me knowing.”

“Oh no,” Gavin whispered softly, his cheeks turning red.

“What?”

“I, uh… I might have forgotten a few things at the base and went to get it Saturday night...”

Geoff lowered his bottle of beer, eyes cold again. “No, you didn’t…”

“What’s going on?” Miles wondered, curious.

“ **You didn’t put back the security system on!** ”

“I did! The next morning! I, uh… I remembered I hadn’t put it back…but…”

“The system was off for _a whole night_?”

“Oh my god,” Michael sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Huh. You should start worrying more about your own crew than me, Geoff,” Caleb suggested.

“Shut up.”

“Okay.”

Geoff stormed out of the building, Ray and Jack not so far behind him. The sun had set down and the air felt chilly on Ray’s skin. “We have to search the whole place.”

“We can look at the building’s camera footage too,” Jack said. “See if there’s any suspicious guy or girl that came by Friday night. Besides Gavin.”

“I’m so sorry Geoff!” the Brit cried as he came out of the building with Michael. “I was in a hurry, I–”

“I couldn’t give less of a fuck Gavin. Find your own damn ride.” Geoff slammed the car’s door as he got behind the wheel. Jack quickly got in the passenger seat while Michael gave Gavin a disappointed look.

“Micoo, please…”

“I’m not freezing my ass off here while we wait for a stupid taxi.” He got inside the car and Geoff instantly drove off, leaving Gavin and Ray behind in the dirt. The Brit couldn’t look more bummed out, and even if Ray had wanted to be angry at him, he couldn’t have been.

“How long has it been since you’ve been on my bike?” Ray wondered casually as he walked to his motorcycle.

“You’ll drive me back home?”

“Unless you wanna walk, yeah.”

Gavin smiled and opened his arms to hug Ray, grateful.

“Oh, you’ll have plenty of time to hug me while we ride,” Ray said, hopping on his bike. “Come on. Hold on tight.”

“Was that some kind of sexual euphemism?” Gavin wondered as he got on Ray’s bike.

“Just ‘cause I like dicks doesn’t mean I’m always thinking about yours Gavin.”

“Why not? It’s rather nice.”

“Please don’t refer to your penis as rather nice.”

“Ask Meg, she’ll–”

The bike’s engine covered Gavin’s voice and Ray drove off the farm, trying to fight the urge to hate himself and regret his life choices. The drive back home took them about half an hour and they didn’t ran into the others, which didn’t surprise Ray since Geoff always drove way too fast when he was in an awful mood. When Gavin and Ray finally got home, the guys were already inside, probably looking at the security footage of the building. Gavin looked more nervous than remorseful at this point and Ray practically had to pull him inside so he could face the others. They were all gathered around Jack’s PC and when Geoff looked up at them, Ray knew Gavin had fucked up big time.

“Could I talk to you outside for a second?” Geoff calmly asked.

He took Gavin by the arm before the Lad could answer and dragged him back at the parking lot. Ray frowned, turning to Michael and Jack.

“Is it that bad?” he asked.

Jack turned the PC towards Ray and played the video that was on screen. It was the fast-forward recording of the security camera of last Friday night. Around midnight, Gavin’s car pulled up in the parking lot and left only few minutes later. Nothing happened for the next couple hours and then, at three in the morning, another car pulled in the parking lot. Jack paused the video as the guy got out of the car. “That’s him. That’s the guy.”

“What guy?”

“The one who attacked me in the truck.”

Ray glanced at the screen again. The guy seemed small, nervous, harmless…and yet suspicious enough to be part of a crew. Michael groaned, stretching his arms behind his head. “We got bugged.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'd be super happy if you could tell me which character you like the most. I try to have them as much as in character as I can but I know it's far from being perfect haha. Anyway, having lots of fun writing with both crews, Caleb, Burnie and Joel! <3
> 
> Sending love to Monty and his loved ones, I hope he gets well soon! <3
> 
> **Edit: I just learned about Monty's death... I can't believe he's gone, it all happened so fast. I hope his friends/family are okay. <3**
> 
> ((Sorry for the lack of Ryan in the chapters lately, I think he'll be in the next one))


	9. In Which Ray Hates Sunglasses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so good at keeping this thing on schedule. *sigh*

They had found one mic and it was currently crushed in thousands of pieces on the kitchen counter. Ray hadn’t stopped staring at it, his heart thumping hard in his chest. Someone had listened to them for two days. Forty-eight hours of heist-planning. They had discussed every detail of their heist, they had went over the plan over and over again, they even had a plan B, C and D that never included a _double-crossed again_ scenario. And they had got bored. They had talked about bevs and drugs and guns. They had talked about video games. They had talked about their weekends.

And Ray had talked about Ryan.

He hadn’t said a word since the realisation that his boyfriend’s identity was now in the open. Jack and Geoff had already planned arrangements if that kind of thing ever happened, and Lindsay could handle anyone herself, but Meg and Ryan…

“What are we going to do?” Gavin croaked, tears filling his eyes. He hadn’t stopped crying ever since he had gone back from his little chat with Geoff. “What’s going to happen to Meg?”

No one answered. Ray knew exactly what was going to happen to Meg. They were going to hunt her down. They were going to go at the bar, they were going to have a nice little drink and they were going to burn the whole place down. Or they were going to do a drive-by shooting. Or they were going to take her somewhere, where no one could find her, and they were going to torture her until she begged for it to end. They were going to kill her, just like they were going to kill Ryan.

Gavin spoke up again. “Are you mad at me Ray?”

The Lad did not look at him. Mad wasn’t even beginning to cover it. He was **furious**. Ryan’s identity was out there. He was in danger and he didn’t even know it. For all Ray knew, Ryan could’ve already been dead. And it was all because of a stupid pair of forgotten sunglasses. _Freaking_. S _unglasses._

“Can someone just talk to me for Christ’s sake!” Gavin shouted, clenching his fists to stop his hands from shaking. Tears rolled down his cheeks as the rest of the crew remained silent. Gavin was about to lose it when Michael finally broke the silence.

“I’ll call Lindsay. We’ll stay at your place for the night. If anything goes wrong, we’ll be there to protect her.”

Gavin sighed in relief, still quietly sobbing. “ _Thank you._ ”

Michael put a hand on his boi’s shoulder and went in another room to call Lindsay. Ray listened his footsteps slowly fade away as he thought about ten different ways Ryan could’ve already died by now. Geoff cleared his throat to get the Lad’s attention.

“We don’t know the guys’ motives yet. It doesn’t mean they’ll be after our families.”

“It doesn’t mean they won’t use them against us,” Ray replied.

“Ryan is common name. So is Meg,” Jack said. “It could take awhile for them to find who they actually are…”

“If they have someone as good as Jordan, it’d only take a day to find them. And it’s been _three.”_

“Then it’s a good sign, isn’t it?” Jack insisted. “If they haven’t attacked them yet, maybe they just…won’t.”

“Yeah, that’s seems likely to happen…” Ray groaned.

“I’m so sorry Ray…”

“Sorry won’t change a thing!” the young man snapped, getting out of his chair. “I mean– _fuck_ … Sunglasses, Gavin? You really had to go get our sunglasses at **_midnight_**?”

“I love those glasses…”

“ **And I love Meg and Ryan**. _Do you realise what_ – ugh. Just… Just don’t talk to me right now, okay? I don’t wanna yell at you…”

Michael came back in the room, his flip phone in hand. “Lindsay’s on her way. We should get going.”

Gavin slowly nodded and glanced back at Ray. He gave him the most apologetic puppy eyes ever before getting up and leaving with Michael. Geoff and Jack stayed quiet as Ray stared down at the counter, clenching his jaw.

“Do you want us to come with you to make sure Ryan’s okay?” Geoff offered after awhile.

“No. I’ll be okay by myself. You probably wanna be with Griffon and Caiti anyway.”

“They’re safe. We don’t mind making a quick detour to Ryan’s place…”

“It’s fine,” Ray said. “I– I’ll call you if there’s anything wrong.”

Geoff looked at him with a sad smile before calmly nodding. “Okay…”He got up and patted Ray on the shoulder before leaving the place, followed by Jack.

Ray stood still in the kitchen, alone. Ever since Jack had showed him the security footage, every muscle of his body was screaming for him to run at Ryan’s place, to check if he was okay. He could’ve called him on his cell phone, called him at home, but Ray couldn’t bring himself to do any of it. Yes, he was angry at Gavin and his stupid priorities, but mainly, Ray was scared. He had done everything to keep Ryan away from his dangerous lifestyle, he had done everything to keep him safe, and yet, Ryan was now in danger. And Ray knew he wouldn’t be able to stand the image of his boyfriend’s body on the floor. He wouldn’t stand the dead silence at the other side of the phone. He couldn’t.

But he had to go. He had to go make sure Ryan was okay. He had to move now or he was going to stand in the middle of this apartment forever. Ray grabbed his keys and got out of the warehouse, making sure to lock the door behind him. He felt sick as he walked towards his bike. He could know right now if Ryan was okay, he could just pull out his phone and ask, but he was afraid no one would answer. So he drove over to Atlee Street, and the ride never seemed so short.

He was about to get in the elevator when his fear transformed into panic. What if Ryan was dying _right now_? What if he could be saved and Ray was taking his sweet time like a fucking idiot? _Oh god…_ Ray ran to the stairs, not bothering to wait for the elevator anymore. He was running so fast it almost looked like he was flying up the stairs. Few seconds later, he was barging through Ryan’s front door and was standing in the living room, breathless as his heart thumped hard in his chest.

Ryan was in the kitchen, making himself a cup of coffee. It seemed he had just taken a shower and he was now wearing his bathrobe. Startled by Ray’s entrance, he had almost dropped his cup on the floor.

“Uh…Ray? What are you doing here? I thought you said you were going to work late. …is everything alright?” he finally asked.

 _He’s alive_. Ray let out the most relieved sigh and walked over to Ryan before pulling him in for a tight hug. He closed his eyes and tucked his face into Ryan’s neck as he tried to hold off tears of joy. He felt Ryan’s hand gently stroke his back.

“Are you okay? What’s going on?”

Ray couldn’t talk. His voice was stuck in his throat and he just held on to Ryan, happy to have him warm and alive by his side. Ryan kept him in his arms as long as he needed it and waited for Ray to speak before asking anymore questions. And when Ray’s voice finally decided to work again, Ryan’s coffee had turned cold.

“I’m glad to see you,” he managed to say.

“I’m glad to see you too, honey,” Ryan replied, giving a quick peck on his boyfriend’s forehead. “Rough day at work?”

Ray chuckled, trying to get rid of the tears in his eyes. “Yeah, you could say that…”

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Maybe some other time. I just wanna cuddle right now.”

“Ask and you shall receive.” Ryan took Ray in his arms just like any good Disney prince would do with their princess and he walked to the living room, settling him down on the couch. “Wanna play some Tetris Ultimate while cuddling?” Ryan suggested before handing a controller to Ray.

“Could you be a little less perfect, it’s making me uncomfortable.”

“I’ll try.”

Ryan opened up his Xbox and sat besides Ray, letting him sit on his lap. He ran his fingers through the young man’s hair while they waited for the game to load. “You sure you’re okay?” Ryan murmured next to his ear.

Ray turned to look at him and saw concern on his face. He felt his heart melt and cupped Ryan’s face in his hands. “I’m super sure,” Ray assured him before kissing him lightly on the lips.

“You looked shaken up when you got here…”

“I was afraid something bad had happened to you,” Ray admitted.

“Something bad…” Ryan stared into space, wondering how bad what Ray feared could actually be.

“Don’t worry about it, everything’s fine,” Ray promised.

“Is it?” Ryan questioned him.

“I’ll try to make it fine.”

The game was up and ready to be played but neither of them pressed the start button. Ray couldn’t take his eyes off of Ryan’s worried look. Maybe he should’ve been more careful with his words…but Ryan had made himself clear in the past: no lies.

“What were you afraid had happened to me?”

“You don’t wanna know Ryan…”

“Ray.”

Ryan was looking at him straight in the eyes, a serious look on his face. He wasn’t going to shake this off so easily, Ray had to explain him what happened… But how could he put anything that had happened that day into something that wouldn’t freak out Ryan?

“You said you were going to be out late,” Ryan went on. “Whatever freaked you out had to be serious enough to make you leave work. Shouldn’t I be a little bit worried?”

Ray bit his lip, trying to find a way to reassure Ryan. _Me and my friends tried robbing a bank and we got double-crossed ‘cause someone got in our warehouse and now they might want to hurt you to get to me._ No, that wasn’t going to work.

“I know you asked me not to lie to you,” Ray started, “but there are some things about me that you might not wanna know.”

“Surprise me.”

“I can’t tell you. It could put you in danger.”

“Am I not already in danger? Was that not why you came rushing in?”

“I’m not sure what’s going on yet,” Ray admitted. “You might be okay. But it’ll take a couple days to know for sure.”

Ryan didn’t seem to like Ray’s answer. “This has something to do with your job, doesn’t it?”

Ray nodded, barely maintaining eye contact. He heard Ryan let out a small laugh. “And I always thought being a teacher was a pain in the ass…”

Ray looked up to him and smiled a bit. “Are your students idiots?”

“Well, they managed to get to university, so that’s gotta mean something. Most of them do a great job but there are always some exceptions sticking out.”

“Do you think I’d be able to take one of your classes without failing?”

“Sure, you’d be able to. But would you _want_ to, now that’s the question.”

“If I can get extra points for each blowjob I give you under your desk, I will.”

Ryan let out a surprised laugh, shifting under Ray’s weight. “We should start playing before the game turns itself off.”

Ray smiled devilishly and turned towards the screen. “You know it’s gonna be real hard for me to focus on the game while you’re here in your bathrobe.”

“As if you wouldn’t beat me at Tetris because I’m in a robe.”

“There’s a first to everything.”

But let’s be real here: Ray couldn’t lose against anyone at Tetris. They played a few rounds, and Ray won every one of them. It was almost like nothing had happened that day. Like Ray hadn’t seen his friends get caught in an explosion, hadn’t punch one of his friends in the face, hadn’t seen Geoff pull out a gun at Caleb’s face. Ryan made everything look so normal and peaceful. Even if Ray knew he probably still was in danger, Ryan was so calm and sweet it felt like nothing had ever been wrong.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” Ray wondered as they were about to finish their last round.

“Uh, Thurdays…” Ryan stayed quiet for a while, too focused on the game to remember his schedule. “I have two classes,” he finally said. “I’ll pretty much be at school all day. Why?” He glanced briefly at Ray. “Were you planning on convincing me to stay here?”

“Would you?” Ray asked. “Stay for a day or two?”

Ryan considered it for a few seconds. “I could work from here Friday.”

“But what about tomorrow?”

“I can’t. I can’t miss class. We’re going over some really important stuff: it’ll be a pain in the ass to catch up if I stay here.”

“Can’t you…send them a PowerPoint or something?”

“Sure, let me just summarize three hours of lecture into a PowerPoint by tomorrow morning. I’m sure they’ll all figure out everything else by themselves.”

“Okay, that was a stupid idea,” Ray conceded.

Ryan sighed. “Look. I can assure you that whatever’s making you worried won’t get through the school’s security. My office is right next where all the security guards hang out. So if anything happens, I think I’ll be okay. I’ll stay at home Friday and we’ll do whatever you want this weekend if I’m still in ‘danger’. Sounds like a deal?”

Ray stayed silent for a while, trying to determine if the school really was as safe as Ryan assured him. “Can I…drive you to work and I’ll pick you up when you finish?”

“Sure. You’ll probably still be sleeping by the time I have to go to work but you can pick me up afterwards.”

“Oh, don’t worry: I’ll be up and ready to go before you even get your ass out of bed.”

Ryan smiled, holding in a small laugh. “We’ll see about that.”

Their Tetris round finished few seconds after that and Ryan closed his console, kissing gently Ray on the cheek to congratulate him for his last win. He then picked him up again and walked to his bedroom, setting his boyfriend down on the bed. Ray took off his clothes as Ryan closed the lights and they crawled under the covers, Ray quickly getting back into Ryan’s arms. He was happy everything was okay for now but he couldn’t help but to worry about the next day. Hopefully, Jordan would find out who the bastards were over the night and they could go hunt them down next thing in the morning. And then Ryan wouldn’t be in danger. It would go back to normal. To video games and cuddles.

Ray snuggled against Ryan, closing his eyes as his body slowly started to relax. “I love you Ryan,” he murmured against his boyfriend’s skin. He wasn’t waiting for an answer and the long silence that followed didn’t bother him. Ryan was probably too sleepy to respond. But few seconds later he felt Ryan’s lips on the top of his head and Ray fell asleep as Ryan murmured back: _I love you too, sweetheart._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed the update! See you next week (hopefully) with a new chapter!  
> Thanks for your support/comments/kudos/bookmarks and everything. <3 It means the world to me.


	10. - - -

~~There won't be any new chapters. I'm sorry to let everyone who liked this down, but I just can't bring myself to like my writing. I always had a hard time appreciating what I create and these days, it looks like I just can't anymore. Thank you for all your comments, they meant the world to me. I wish I could've shared the rest of the story with you but I suck, sorry.~~

~~I won't delete the fic, and there's always the possibility that I'll be back but I highly doubt I will.~~

~~Once again, thank you for everything. I'm sorry.~~

 

Don't worry about this, I'm not on hiatus anymore!

I'm just keeping this up for all the lovely comments I got, so I can look back at them when I'm feeling down.


	11. In Which Ray Goes to University

When Ray woke up that morning, he wasn’t tucked in Ryan’s arms. Shivering, he rolled over to his boyfriend to find some warmth, but the right side of the mattress was empty and cold. Frowning, Ray lifted himself up a little and looked around the bedroom.

“Ryan?” Ray asked in a scratchy voice.

The apartment was dead silent.

“Fuck,” Ray muttered as he sprung up of bed, trying to get rid of the covers. “Ryan!”

Something must’ve happened, otherwise Ryan would’ve waked him up or something, right? Ray got out of the room and went straight to the kitchen, looking everywhere around him. Both the kitchen and the living room were as empty as the bedroom. And that’s when Ray realized it wasn’t morning at all. He had slept in, and it was now almost 12PM.

Ray was about to lose his mind when a note on the counter caught his attention.

_Sorry. Didn’t have the heart to wake you up._

_I left some croissants for you but feel free to eat anything you want. I’ll call you after work._

_Love you._

_– Rye xx_

Even if he felt relieved his boyfriend hadn’t been kidnapped while he was sleeping in his own drool, Ray couldn’t help but to be angry at himself. He had told Ryan he would drive him to work, he had sworn to protect him and yet, he couldn’t even get out of bed in time to keep his promise. How much more useless could he be? Ray went back to the bedroom and dressed himself up. He was probably the shittiest boyfriend of all times but he wasn’t going to leave Ryan alone when some scumbags most likely wanted him dead. Ray grabbed an apple and got out of the apartment, pulling out his cell phone to call Geoff. The man answered instantly.

“Everything okay?” Geoff asked, worried.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Did Jordan find anything?” Ray wondered as he got on his bike.

“Not yet, he’s still looking for the guys. Jack and I are going to RT’s base. Meet us there?”

“Actually, I was planning on sticking around Ryan, to make sure no one comes for him at work.”

“Of course. Do you want back up?”

“No, it’s fine. I think I can handle it.”

“Okay. Well, I’ll call you if anything new comes up. Stay safe Ray.”

Ray smirked. “I will.”

He hung up and his bike’s engine roared as he headed to the University. The ride was short (Ray had definitely not been driving over the speed-limit) and Ray had no trouble finding the place. The campus was filled with students enjoying the weather between two classes. Most of them looked about Ray’s age, and the young man felt weirdly at ease in this environment. He parked his bike and walked up to two girls hanging around an old statue glamorously covered in bird shit.

“Excuse me, do you know where I can find Mr Haywood’s office?” Ray asked the girls.

 _Mr Haywood_. It felt so weird to say. And strangely fun.

One of the girls gave a weird look to her friend before answering. “I don’t know who this is. What’s his field?”

“Uh, I think he’s teaching science stuff…”

The girl smirked, clearly figuring out Ray wasn’t a student, but pointed something over Ray’s shoulder. “The Science Department is just over there, where all the security guards are hanging out.”

Security guards. Ryan had mentioned them. Perfect.

“Right, thanks.” Ray smiled briefly at the girls and turned around to get to the Science Department. He didn’t feel like hanging out inside (the weather was beautiful and it would’ve been suspicious to spend all day doing nothing around the security guards) so Ray looked around the area and spotted a bench far enough from the guards but that still allowed him to keep an eye on everyone walking in and out of the building. He sat down and got his phone out, hoping he would soon get a text from Geoff, telling him Ryan wasn’t in danger anymore, that they’d caught the guys.

By 1PM, the campus was getting less and less crowded as people got back to their classes. Most of the security guards had gone back to their patrolling inside, but two guys remained at the doors, glancing every now and then at Ray and the other students still chilling outside. Ryan was right, he was perfectly safe at the University, but there was no way in hell Ray was going to leave him alone, not until he got confirmation from Geoff that they’d stopped the sons of bitches.

Looking around as he felt rather bored, Ray’s eyes locked on a familiar figure walking towards him. He squinted to get a better look at the guy and frowned when he finally recognized him.

“Gavin?” he said as the Lad walked up to him. “What are you doing here?”

“Came to see if everything was alright.”

“Well, yeah…it’s pretty calm over here.”

Gavin pointed the empty spot next to Ray and the young man nodded, scooting over to give Gavin more space. The Brit seemed tired and his eyes were sad. He let out a sigh as he sat down next to Ray and before his friend could ask him anything, he spoke again.

“I’m sorry Ray,” he apologized. “About everything… You must really hate me right now.”

“I don’t,” Ray assured him. “Sure, I was a bit pissed yesterday, but none of this is your fault really… Whether you would’ve left the security system on or off, they would’ve found a way in, I’m sure. It was just a matter of time.”

“Yeah…” Gavin didn’t sound convinced. Michael had probably told him the same thing over and over again since yesterday.

“Where’s Meg?” Ray wondered. “Is she working? Is someone looking after her?”

“She’s in good hands,” Gavin replied, looking sadder than ever.

“…which means?”

“She’s at RT’s headquarters.”

“What? What is she doing there?”

“I told her,” Gavin said. “I told her everything. About my job, about you guys. I was freaking her out yesterday, trying to keep her safe. She knew something was up… I couldn’t keep the lies anymore. So I told her.”

 _Oh shit._ Ray stayed silent for a while as Gavin kept his eyes down to his feet. Meg’s whole world had just fallen apart yesterday, and probably Gavin’s as well. No wonder he looked so depressed. There was just no good way of telling the one you loved the most that you weren’t really the person they fell in love with. Meg loved Gavin, the cameraman who worked on weird documentaries. She loved Gavin, the sweet guy who couldn’t stop blushing every time she’d catch him looking at her. How was she supposed to transpose those feelings to Gavin, the guy who blew up convenience stores for fun?

“What did she say?” Ray finally asked, fearing the worst.

“She hasn’t talked to me yet. Lindsay explained to her it was best to go at RT’s headquarters, that she’d be safer there.”

“She agreed to go?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘agreed’,” Gavin sighed. “She doesn’t have a choice really. She doesn’t wanna end up…you know, dead.”

Ray looked down at the floor, brows furrowed. He felt sorry for Meg. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how horrible she was feeling right now. Her boyfriend had been lying to her for the past year, all of his friends were just as fake as him and their lies were now threatening her life. And to know Ryan could end up in the same situation made Ray feel sick.

“Is she okay?” Ray asked quietly. “I mean…regardless of everything that’s going on.”

“She’s as good as someone would be,” Gavin shrugged. “I think she understands we’ll protect her no matter what.”

“Well… Give her some time. She’ll start talking again to you soon I’m sure.”

“Yeah…”

By the sad tone of his voice, Ray guessed Michael must’ve told him that as well.

The two Lads stayed in silence for a while, Gavin looking at his feet as Ray kept glancing at the Science Department. Ray couldn’t stop thinking about Meg, and what would happen if Ray had to come clean to Ryan. There was no way he could convince him to stop going to work. Ryan wasn’t going to abandon his students, and he probably wouldn’t be thrilled to share a room with a bunch of criminals. Ryan was the dorkiest person of Los Santos, the sweetest, the cutest, the nicest…in other words, the complete opposite of Ray and the crew. He was a good man, and Ray felt like he was pulling him down, closer to corruption and danger. How could Ray do that? How could he knowingly put Ryan’s life in danger, how could he be so fucking selfish?

“Have you ever thought what it would’ve been like if we weren’t in the crew?”

Ray looked over at Gavin, puzzled. The Brit kept his eyes on his feet for a few more seconds before raising his head up and meeting Ray’s gaze.

“Dude, I’d be nothing without the crew,” Ray claimed. He let out a small chuckle. “You really think I could have a normal job? It’d be boring as shit. And there’s no greater coworkers out there. We’re a family, and all that shit, remember?” Ray elbowed Gavin softly in his side.

“I know…” Gavin mumbled, looking back down at his feet. “I love my life, don’t get me wrong but… I’d be lying if I said I never wanted something else. I never liked lying to Meg. But I knew she couldn’t handle the truth. And sometimes… Sometimes, I wish I didn’t have to lie to her. I wish I were that silly cameraguy filming animals shagging.” Gavin laughed but he never sounded more heartbroken. “I love Meg, and I love you guys. And it kills me that I can’t have both…”

“Why can’t you?” Ray replied. “You _did_ have both. Jack has both, Geoff and Michael have both–”

“Meg’s never going to forgive me Ray,” Gavin cut him off. “I’m not an idiot, I know she won’t. I screwed everything up between us… It’s never going to be the same ever again.” Gavin looked up to him. “You still can make things right Ray. You could leave the crew. Get a job, a boring one, but something that won’t screw you up. You could still have a life with Ryan. Have you ever considered that?”

The two friends stared at each other, Ray’s heart beating out of his chest. Had he considered it? Leaving it all behind, flying away with Ryan and starting a new life with him? Sure. A dozen of times. A dozen different scenarios in which Ray and Ryan were perfectly happy. But Ray couldn’t get himself to believe in happy endings. Someone was going to track him down and pull him back into the game. Los Santos wouldn’t let him go so easily.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Gavin and Ray looked over their shoulders, wondering who the fuck dared talking to them. It physically pained Ray not to roll his eyes as Caleb walked around the bench to face them.

“Caleb, what the hell are you doing here?” Gavin asked.

“I said I was going to help you guys.”

“We’re not really on ‘duty’ right now,” Ray told him. “Can’t you, like, go see the others?”

“And get strangled by Geoff because he misinterprets everything I say? No thank you.”

Caleb sat down between them, letting out a satisfied sigh.

“Join us, won’t you?” Ray sarcastically offered as he scooted over to give all of them more space.

“Did you find anything new?” Gavin wondered.

“Yes I did,” Caleb proudly replied. “There’s a new crew in town.”

“Yeah, no shit Sherlock,” Ray grumbled. “What else can you tell us that we don’t already know?”

“I know who they are,” Caleb announced. “Kinda,” he added before Ray and Gavin could ask more questions. “I know they are at least five. And they hire freelancers from time to time. The guy who bugged you is called Dragon Face. Small dude but he always gets the job done.”

“He does have a weird face,” Gavin pensively agreed.

“What about the others? Who are they?” Ray asked eagerly.

“I couldn’t get any more names. All I know is they are one hell of a team.”

“What about the freelancers? Do you know who they hired and what for?”

“No clue.”

“Okay, so we know they are five and one of them is called Dragon Face,” Ray summed up, feeling his blood boil in anger. “I don’t think I can handle that much info Caleb, Jesus Christ. You should go easy next time, maybe get Dragon Face’s favorite restaurant or something.”

“Hey, I’m doing my best,” Caleb pleaded.

“If this is your best, then cutting you off was the best decision Geoff’s ever made,” Ray snapped.

“It’s only been a day, okay? Digging up info takes some time. I don’t wanna get caught looking around and end up in a ditch, with a bullet in my head.”

Ray bit on his lip to keep himself from yelling. The image of Ryan lying in dirt, covered in his own blood, as expressionless eyes stared in the distance flashed in Ray’s mind, and his whole body stiffened.

“Yeah well, the longer we take to find them, the longer they have time to get to us,” Ray mumbled, jaws clenched.

“Don’t worry man, we’ll find them. I mean… I’m pretty good, and Jordan’s pretty good too. They don’t stand a chance.”

“What’s that blade you have Caleb?”

Caleb and Ray looked over at Gavin, both caught off-guard by the Brit’s question.

“Mh?”

“In your pocket.”

Caleb looked down and let out a laugh. “Oh, this.” He took out a customized pocket-knife that had slid down his pants when he had sat down. “I found it earlier. Pretty nice right?”

“Where did you get it?”

“I found it.”

“ ** _Where_**.”

“Is everything okay Gavin?” Ray asked, surprised by the sudden change of mood.

“I don’t know!” Caleb went on. “I found it in the city, it was just on the ground. Someone must’ve dropped it.”

“Caleb, I’m gonna ask one more time, and if you lie to my face again, I’m going to rip you apart.”

“Gavin, what the fuck is going on?”

“This is Dan’s knife.”

Ray frowned, unsettled by the mention of Dan. What the hell was his knife doing in Caleb’s pocket?

“Dan’s knife?” Caleb repeated. “What are you talking about?”

Gavin’s eyes sparkled with anger. “You know where he is.”

“I don’t!”

“DON’T BLOODY LIE TO ME!”

Gavin reached for his gun behind him but Caleb pushed him and Ray off the bench before they could do anything and started running away. Spitting out either made-up words or British-slang Ray never heard before, Gavin got up and was about to go after him when Ray grabbed his arm.

“What are you doing!” Gavin yelled. “He’s getting away!”

“It’s too late,” Ray hissed as he glanced at the security guards behind Gavin. “We’re gonna get got if we try anything.”

“But he might know where Dan is! He’s been missing for weeks!”

“What do you mean 'missing'?”

“I haven’t heard of him since the last time he came over at the base.”

“Maybe _–_ Maybe he’s busy. He gets caught up in work sometimes.”

“He hasn’t texted in weeks!” Gavin insisted. “Something happened to him! Geoff thinks I’m paranoid, but I know something happened! He would **never** lose this knife, I _gave_ this knife to him, he loves it, he’d never lose it! So someone took it away from him, someone is keeping _him_ away!” Gavin concluded. “And Caleb knows where.”

Ray stayed silent for a while, taking in everything Gavin had said. He was surprised he hadn’t heard about any of it before, but then again, he had spent a lot of time with Ryan lately.

“Holy shit,” Ray finally whispered. “We have to tell Geoff.”

“Or just go after Caleb!”

“We can’t.” Ray glanced again at the security guards who were coming their way. “We gotta go man. Now.” He pulled Gavin with him and started walking back to his bike, trying not to look suspicious. Gavin wasn’t happy about letting Caleb go but didn’t argue back. He held on tight to Ray as they drove back to RT’s base, yelling in Ray’s ear from time to time about how _a bloody traitor_ Caleb was.

And Ray knew Geoff wouldn’t agree more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyy, I'm back! And I'm really, really, really, really happy to be back!  
> I'm not gonna make any promises, I can't say I'll update soon, but I really want to share this story with you guys. It might take some time, but I'll really try to finish this.  
> I wanna thank everyone who supported me, your comments meant the world to me, and I hope you'll continue reading the story. <3


	12. In Which Jordan Is Way More Efficient than Caleb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Monty is in this chapter, he only has a couple of lines.

Gavin jumped off the bike before Ray had the time to properly stop it and ran at RT’s back door, banging furiously at it. When Ray finally caught up with him, someone was already letting him in.

“Are you guys okay?” Miles asked as he closed the door behind them, brows furrowed in a worried expression.

“I’m feeling great!” Gavin snapped, storming off to the lounge. “Geoff is going to **bloody** love this!”

Miles glared at Ray, wondering what the fuck was going on.

“You’ll know soon enough,” the young man assured him, not bothering to explain.

He quickly followed Gavin to the lounge, Miles not too far behind him. The place was crowded, as usual, and this time, Lindsay had also joined the party. But Ray knew she wasn’t there to have fun. A serious look had taken over her features, the same look everyone had been wearing ever since the failed heist. She looked away from Michael as she heard Gavin bursting into the room. She glanced at Ray, giving him a weak smile before shooting a quick look at something over to her left. Or rather _someone_. In the corner of the room, sitting by herself on an old couch, was Meg.

Ray felt his heart skip a beat as their eyes latched onto each other. Meg looked exhausted, her eyes red from crying. As he saw her, completely helpless, Ray realized he had never seen her without a smile, and suddenly, the whole situation seemed even worse. Their shared look was brief, less than a second, but it was enough for Ray to understand she was going through a lot. He would’ve liked to offer her a smile, be somewhat reassuring in this whole mess, but the truth was: he couldn’t stand looking at her. He didn’t want to look at what Ryan could end up like.

Geoff straightened as he saw his boys walk through the door. “What are you guys doing here? I thought you wanted to keep an eye on Ryan, Ray.”

“Something came up. Something big.”

“Caleb betrayed us,” Gavin blurted out.

The news was greeted with silence. Jordan, who was working in the back of the room, froze above his keyboard before turning his chair around to look at Gavin, concern clearly written all over his face. It was a thing to cut Caleb out of AH’s activities, but to have him against both crews… Ray didn’t doubt for a second that it was going to be a major pain in their ass, real soon. Caleb knew a lot of stuff about RT and AH, and knowing he wasn’t working with any of them anymore was a bit worrying.

“Excuse me?” Gus finally said with a mix of disbelief and anger.

“He’s working with bad guys! He knows where Dan is!”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Gav?” Michael stepped in, confused.

“Ray and I were talking and Caleb came along.” Gavin started pacing around, trying to stay calm (and clearly failing). “And he talked with us and told us what he’d discovered about the bastards who tried to blow us up, and then I noticed– ” He stopped walking, staring into space. “He had Dan’s knife. And when I confronted him, he ran away, and I could’ve run after him, but Ray stopped me and–” He turned around to look at his friend. “Why did you stop me? I would’ve caught up with him!"

“Dude, you were going to get fucked by the security guards before you could’ve got even _near_ Caleb.”

“I don’t care, I would’ve fought them off!” Gavin said. His eyes narrowed as he pointed an accusing finger at Ray. “You stopped me because **you** didn’t want your _precious little Ryan_ to–”

“Gavin, that’s enough,” Geoff cut him off. “Calm down buddy, you’re gonna pass out.”

Gavin huffed angrily, eyes still locked on Ray, but eventually turned away, keeping his head down as he tried to catch his breath. Lindsay put a compassionate hand on his shoulder as he walked by her.

“So something happened to Dan?” Barbara asked, surprised by the news.

“Looks like it. He hasn’t texted Gavin since that time you screwed us up at the Port,” Ray said.

“Well, that wasn’t that long ago, was it?” Miles wondered. "Maybe he’s just busy.”

“No one goes missing for weeks because they’re _busy_ ,” Gavin grumbled. “They’re either dead or don’t wanna be found.”

“Then maybe he doesn’t wanna be found…”

“Caleb had his knife!” Gavin yelled. “ **My** knife! The knife I gave to Dan when we came to America. He loves it, he’d never lose it or give it to anyone. Unless he was forced to.” He looked around, seeming now more sad than angry. “Someone out there is keeping him locked up.”

The crews remained silent as they processed everything Gavin had said. Ray wasn’t as close to Dan as Gavin was, but he really liked the guy. And the thought that Dan was possibly being tortured as they were speaking made him sick.

“I’m sorry to be the one saying this,” Monty started, immerging from his still state, “but I think Gavin’s right: Dan is most likely in trouble…”

“How can we be sure he was taken by the same guys that tried to kill us?” Jack asked.

“Does Dan sell bombs?”

“He sells everything,” Gavin replied, with some pride. “He can get his hands on anything you need. He doesn’t usually work with bombs, but he’d be able to get a good deal for it. Why?”

“I’m thinking our new friends might have needed his help to crash your heist,” Monty carefully said. “I mean… Jordan found no transactions for that amount of bombs and, if they didn’t buy it in stores, they had to have a guy.”

“Why didn’t they reach out for you then?” Miles asked. “I mean… You’re _literally_ the bomb expert.”

“Maybe they knew I wasn’t going to follow them without a fight,” Monty smirked.

“That, or they figured we would be up their ass if you went missing for a day,” Blaine said. “I mean, you’re pretty much always hanging out with us, you’re part of the crew.”

“Dan’s a freelancer: he works alone," Lindsay joined in. "Easier to get in touch with, easier to kidnap without anyone noticing.”

“So, if Caleb had Dan’s knife, that means he actually found the other crew?” Geoff wondered.

“I guess,” Gavin sighed. “And he liked the paycheck better…”

“Fucking Christ…”

Geoff turned his back to the others and walked away, his hands on his head. Jack tried to reach out to him, but Geoff exploded before he could even say anything.

“ **That motherfucker is going down!** The next time I see him, he is fucking DEAD! You hear me? DEAD. And if someone gets to him before me, I swear to God, I will–”

“We’ll leave him for you, don’t worry,” Gus cut him off, annoyed.

“So what do we do?” Arryn asked. “Caleb probably told them everything about us. And we still know nothing about them.”

“Actually, he told us some stuff,” Ray remembered. “But I don’t know if it’s true or not anymore.”

“What did he say?”

“Not much. He said they’re about five and they hire freelancers – or abduct them apparently – and that’s about it. Oh yeah, he did mention someone called Dragon Face. The guy that attacked Jack and bugged us.”

“Dragon Face? That’s…an interesting nickname,” Barbara commented with a weird smile.

“And the useless info on Earth,” Michael grumbled, getting a grunt of approval from Geoff. “Who the fuck cares how the guy calls himself? For all we know, Caleb just made up a random name to lead us in a dead-end.”

“Actually, I think he’s telling the truth.”

Everyone turned around to look at Jordan. The young man stood up and walked up to the rest of the group, focused on the files he had just printed out. Ray couldn’t help but notice Meg had followed every word of the conversation, and now she looked actually… curious. Jordan sat his files down on the table, spreading the sheets around for everyone to see. There were some headshots of some weird-looking dudes, but most of the pictures were blurry security cams.

“Dragon Face’s actual name is Kerry Shawcross,” Jordan started, pointing at the guy everyone really hated by now. “Got arrested a few times for a couple of break-ins and drug deals awhile ago. He stayed low ever since, practically fell off the radar, but now he’s making a comeback. It doesn’t look like he specializes in anything really. But he gets the job done.”

Caleb’s words echoed in Ray’s mind. _Small dude but he always gets the job done._

“I understand the nickname now,” Barbara muttered as she looked closer at the picture.

“Never seen him before,” Gus said absentmindedly.

“He never played in the big league, mainly getting his hands on small underground jobs.”

“So, he’s like a criminal hipster,” Miles joked.

“I guess so,” Jordan smiled.

“Who are the other guys?” Jack asked, picking up another photograph.

“ _This_ is Bragg. He comes with this guy…” Jordan pointed at a picture of a buff guy. “Dooley. They’ve been working together for years. They started out stealing stores but they worked their way up and they can pretty much get anywhere now. Security systems don’t stand a chance to them.”

“When I hijacked the armored truck and got attacked by Shawcross, there was another guy who picked him up when he blew up the truck,” Jack remembered as he looked at the pictures. “I don’t see him here…”

Jordan looked annoyed. “Yeah… These three aren’t the only ones in the crew, but they’re the ones I had the most info on. I know for sure there’s two other guys. One is some kind of weapon expert and people call him Troll Master. That’s pretty much all I could gather on him.”

“What about the last one?” Arryn asked, curious.

Jordan shook his head. “I have nothing on him. No name, no pictures. Actually, for all I know, it could also be a girl. I’ll have to keep looking.”

“You did good work Jordan,” Gus praised him.

“It’s not enough for now. I should get back to it…”

“Wait,” Geoff stopped him. He looked at the pictures, something clearly bothering him. “These guys are young, and by what you told us, they’re not in the same league as us. So why the fuck are they attacking us? I mean… they have to work for someone, right?”

“There’s mentions of a boss, but again, no name, no pictures,” Jordan sighed, defeated. “The only thing I know is that they might be from Washington.”

“Washington?” Miles repeated, confused. “Why is someone in Washington pissed at us?”

Gus and Geoff rose their heads up and exchanged a worried look.

“What was that?” Miles went on. “You guys just did a _we know something that you don’t_ look.”

“Their boss isn’t from Washington,” Gus sighed. “It’s his name. Well, codename.”

“So you guys know him?” Ray asked.

Geoff rubbed his face, seeming suddenly exhausted. “We do… Ugh, okay, story time. You guys know Gus, Burnie, Joel and I used to be in a crew.”

“Yeah… That’s why we never get bothered by the cops,” Arryn said.

“Yeah, well, we might’ve left out some details about our old crew,” Geoff groaned.

“Do tell,” Miles said in a cheerful tone, like he was expecting some juicy secrets.

“We had two other guys with us,” Gus told the crews. “There was Nathan… and Shannon.”

“That’s Washington,” Geoff explained. “Mean son of a bitch. But he used to be a good guy. Super smart, he came up with most of our heist plans. But things don’t always go the way it’s supposed to.”

“We were young and Geoff and Burnie were dumb…”

“Okay, to my defense, everyone was a little bit dumb,” Geoff intervened. “Burnie and I were just more loud about it.”

“So Geoff and Burnie were _super_ dumb,” Gus continued, ignoring his former friend completely, “and they screwed up bad in the middle of a heist. Things got really dangerous and… Well, we didn’t have cops on our side at the time.” Gus stopped a moment, his brows furrowed. “Nathan got shot and bled out in the car. Joel got pretty hurt too, but the rest of us got out okay. But Shannon… He got pissed. Said it was our fault Nathan died, that if we’d followed the plan, _his plan_ , everyone would’ve stayed alive. But he wasn’t the only one we had pissed off.”

“That night, some other crew came to visit us,” Geoff carried on. “They set fire to our base. We lost pretty much all we had. I got out with Gus, and Burnie left with Joel. We had no clue Shannon was by himself so… we left him in the fire.”

“So…he’s dead too?” Miles asked, confused.

“We thought he was for a while,” Gus replied. “But we never found his remains. He could’ve got sick of the crew and took the opportunity to leave the city. We were never really sure what happened.”

“How long ago was that?” Michael wondered.

“Oh god…like, ten, fifteen years ago.”

“That’s plenty of time for Shannon to plan his revenge,” Jack pointed out.

“What’s his full name? I’ll look him up and see what he’s been up to since he disappeared,” Jordan said.

“Shannon McCormick. He’s pretty good at hiding his tracks, but go ahead,” Geoff told him.

“So this whole mess…it’s only because of a fifteen year old fight?” Ray summed up.

“You don’t wanna get on Shannon’s bad side,” Geoff assured him. “The guy _loves_ his job. And if you’re ruining it for him, you’re better dead than alive to him.”

“And we ruined pretty much everything for him,” Gus said. “We killed the only guy who put up with everything he asked and lost everything we had gained. Plus, maybe he thinks we deliberately left him in the fire, who knows.”

Ray felt his blood boil. This whole fucking mess that had put everyone he loved in danger could be just a stupid misunderstanding that happened when he was just a child. Fuck that.

“So what’s the plan? We find Shannon, tell him he’s an idiot and keep on with our lives?” Ray asked.

“Shannon won’t go down without a fight,” Gus assured him. “If we want to confront him, we gotta be prepared. We’ve got to have the upper hand, otherwise we’re screwed. And as long as Shannon can get men to do his dirty work for him, he won’t leave us alone. We have to **end** his crew. It’s them…or us.”

The group fell silent, everyone thinking about how painful the next few weeks were going to be. The only way to stay alive was to get rid of the enemy. As long as Shannon and his crew walked the city, Ryan, Meg, _everyone_ was in danger. The idea was unbearable to Ray. How the fuck was he supposed to keep Ryan away from work _for_ _weeks_.

“Well, I’m not dying because some old guy is pissed off for something that’s completely unrelated to me,” Barbara suddenly said.

“Neither am I,” Lindsay agreed.

“I’m not letting anyone here die because of this douchebag,” Michael assured. “We’re gonna get the fucker and show him how it’s done, son!” He high-fived his wife, smiling brightly at her.

“I’ll go look for more info on Shannon!” Jordan said, going back to his computers.

“As soon as he finds something, I’ll be sure to let everyone know,” Gus promised. “For now, we should focus on these guys.” He picked up one of the photographs on the table. “We need to find them before they find us. We interrogate them and find out where Shannon is hiding. And we eliminate the problem at its source.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Jack agreed.

“So I’m staying here?”

Meg’s high-pitched voice made everyone turn around. By the looks on everyone’s face, she hadn’t spoken ever since she was dragged to the base.

“I’m sorry love, but it’d be safer,” Gavin replied, his voice softer than ever.

Meg barely looked at him before letting her head fall down, her arms hugging her legs closer to her chest. She could’ve slapped Gavin the hardest she could, and it would’ve probably hurt him less. And once again, all Ray could think of was how Ryan would react himself. Angry, disappointed, sad… There wasn’t going to be any love left.

“I should go,” Ray muttered, feeling oddly disconnected from everything that was happening. “I promised Ryan to pick him up from work…”

“Are you going to bring him here?” Lindsay asked.

“No. Not…not yet.”

He wasn’t ready to tell the truth. He wasn’t ready to face the consequences.

Lindsay offered him a weak smile and nodded gently. She understood his fears and Ray knew he could count on her if he ever needed help to convince Ryan to stay at RT’s headquarters, but he wanted to spend at least one last night with Ryan. One last peaceful night where he could pretend he wasn’t going to betray the love of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meg is killing me. She's perf.  
> Lindsay is perf.  
> Everyone is perf.  
> -  
> Next, on _Clash of Clans_ : Raywood being cuties!  
>  I'll try to write as much as I usually do, but next chapter might be a little shorter.  
> -  
> Thank you for your feedback!


	13. In Which Everyone Knows Godzilla Is Romantic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, took me a month to write this, sorry... I almost dropped the story again, so I'm just glad I managed to get this chapter out of me really haha  
> Hopefully the fluff will make up for the wait.

By the time Ray got back to the campus, he had barely managed to put on a fake smile on his face. He didn’t want Ryan to know something was wrong, he was worried enough as it was…but somehow, it felt vain to try and fool Ryan: the man always saw right through him. And now that he officially knew that Ray’s work was kinda dangerous, Ryan wasn’t going to buy it if Ray told him he was just _tired_.

Settling on the side of the street between two cars, Ray stayed put on his bike and took out his phone to see if he had any new messages. There were none. He would’ve expected some snarky comment about him not getting up in time, or at least, Ryan wishing him a good lunch or something. The silence made him uneasy, as if he wasn’t feeling bad enough.

_‘Ray – 4:51PM : yo are u almost done?’_

He stared at his phone for a while before adding two little x’s to his text to compensate for the very romantic ‘yo’ and lack of cute names. Throwing his phone back in his pocket, Ray leaned back on his bike and looked over to the science department. He had no clue when Ryan was going to be done, but he guessed classes had to be over around 5 or 6 PM. He didn’t mind to wait.

He was about to get off his bike to sit on the grass when his phone buzzed.

_‘Ryan – 4:59PM : I’ll be there in a minute! xx’_

_‘Ray – 4:59PM : alright, take your time’_

Ray couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the thought of seeing Ryan. It had been a long day, and he knew everything was going to be okay as long as Ryan stayed with him. And now, he had three days to figure out how to keep Ryan safe without pushing him away. Eyes locked on the doors leading to the science department, Ray almost jumped when he heard his boyfriend’s voice.

“Hey baby, did you sleep well?” Ryan teased him as he got closer.

“Jesus Christ Ryan, you scared the crap out of me,” Ray mumbled, putting a hand on his chest. “Where did you come from? I thought you’d come out there– wait. That’s the science department, right? Or did I get pranked by two random chicks?”

Ryan chuckled softly. “You didn’t get pranked. I got out through the main entrance, that’s all.” He stepped closer to Ray and kissed him on the forehead. “How was your day?”

“Pretty awful actually. You?”

“It was alright… What happened?” Ryan wondered, curious.

“Well, for starters, you weren’t there when I woke up, which sucks–” Ray noticed a faint smile on Ryan’s lips. “– and then, I got in a fight with my friend at work.”

“Oh. Do you wanna talk about it?” Ryan offered.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Ray assured him. “I’m hungry. Do you wanna go out for dinner?”

“Go out? You mean, in the outside world? _With other people_?” Ryan asked, obviously in a teasing mood. “Are you sure you can stand out in the sun any longer?”

“Ha, ha, very funny.” Ray felt a smile creeping up on his lips.

“We can always order food and eat at my place,” Ryan suggested as he climbed on Ray’s bike. He leaned against his back, his lips close to Ray’s ear. “Am I not in danger after all?”

Even though Ryan was right and the situation was in fact very serious, Ray shivered at his boyfriend’s tone. He was used to Ryan’s adorable awkwardness and cute names, but this… The way he had spoken gave Ray a glimpse of some dark side he had never been aware of. And goddamn, it made Ryan even hotter than he already was. It kinda reminded him of the first time he had seen him, at the Charity Fair, how he thought Ryan was that serious, mysterious guy. Before he realized Ryan was just the biggest goofball ever.

“You’re not saying anything,” Ryan pointed out, still close to his ear.

“Sorry, you… You really don’t see how attractive you are, do you?” Ray wondered.

“Who says I don’t?”

Ray glanced over his shoulder, meeting Ryan’s smug smile. “Okay, we are so not going out. And that shirt is coming right off as soon as we get to your place.”

“If that’s what you want,” Ryan’s voice purred.

Ray didn’t know what had gotten into Ryan that day but Jesus fucking Christ did he like it.

The engine of his bike roared and Ray drove as quickly as he could to Ryan’s place, barely keeping himself from going over the speed limit. When they finally reached Ryan’s building, Ray couldn’t wait any longer, couldn’t wait to get to his apartment. He pulled Ryan in the nearest elevator and their lips smashed together as the doors closed behind them. Ryan blindly pushed Ray against the wall, his hands already under the young man’s shirt, his touch gentle even though he seemed eager for more.

“Ryan…” Ray sighed against his lips. “What’s… What’s going on?”

“We’re making out in an elevator and it’s _way_ too hot,” Ryan groaned, leaning in closer to seal their lips back together.

Ray let him and pulled Ryan’s body closer to his, forgetting everything that had been torturing his mind ever since he’d woken up. Ryan usually didn’t give in so easily to his desires but Ray guessed it had been a long day for the both of them. They deserved all the fun they could get.

Their lips parted as the elevator doors opened up again, and Ryan made his way to his apartment, Ray glued to his side.

“Have you been missing me today by any chance?” Ray asked, a small smile reaching his lips.

“Was it the kissing or the slight dirty talk that gave it away?”

“You call _that_ dirty talk?” Ray teased him. “You’re so…innocent.”

“Innocent? Me?” Ryan turned around as he opened the door to look at his boyfriend with big incredulous eyes, brows raised high.

“You’re the worst,” Ray laughed as he smushed Ryan’s face in his hand, walking past him to get inside.

“Love you too, sweetheart.”

How they could act like they weren’t just grinding on each other in an elevator probably would’ve amazed anyone Ray knew but it seemed completely natural to him. And anyway, Ray was pretty hungry by now: the sex could wait. Unless Ryan couldn’t.

“What do you wanna do now?” Ray asked, slowly walking further in the apartment.

“We could…order pizza and play some video games,” Ryan said as he put his arms around Ray. He pressed his lips against his neck. “And then have sex. You know, the usual.”

“Are you sure your dick can stand the wait? ‘Cause I can feel it wanting to say hi to my ass right now.”

Ryan chuckled against Ray’s skin, amused. “ **It** will be alright, don’t worry.”

He gave one last peck to Ray and walked over to the phone, giving a quick glance at the menu to choose what they could have tonight. As he waited for someone to answer, he looked at Ray and murmured a sweet ‘I love you’ with a fond smile. Ray’s heart bounced in his chest as a warm, fuzzy feeling overwhelmed him. God, did he love that guy.

Ray sat down on the couch, already getting a controller even though he didn’t bother to open Ryan’s TV just yet. He looked over at Ryan as he ordered them a medium pepperoni and cheese pizza, and smiled as Ryan walked over to him, sitting down by his side.

“So,” Ryan sighed, kissing Ray softly on the cheek, “wanna talk about what happened at work today?”

“Not really…but I probably should,” Ray conceded. “It’s just…I don’t know where to start really.”

“Is it about dangerous stuff again?”

“Kinda…”

“Does it involve me?”

“We weren’t fighting about you, don’t worry,” Ray reassured him. “I just… One of my coworkers’ girlfriend is in trouble too, and it kinda got bad between them. She hasn’t talked to him ever since…” Ray slowly stopped talking, wondering how to put his thoughts into words.

“Ever since she knew it put her in danger to stay with the guy?” Ryan said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah…” Ray wiggled in his seat, uncomfortable. If Meg didn’t want to be with Gavin anymore, why would Ryan ever want to be with him? “Anyway… My friend was on edge, and his best friend’s been MIA for a while now, and he wasn’t thinking straight so I stopped him from doing something stupid, and he got angry, and…it’s just dumb.”

“It’s not dumb,” Ryan said, putting his arm around Ray so he could snuggle against him. “It’s rarely pleasant to argue with friends, I get that. Maybe he’ll feel better tomorrow and he’ll understand why you stopped him from doing…whatever he wanted to do.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Ray stayed silent against Ryan’s chest, staring at the TV’s black screen. “You’re probably wondering what the fuck I’m talking about.”

“I am a little curious, yes,” Ryan admitted. “But if you think it’s better I don’t know what’s up with you and your friends, it’s okay.”

“I don’t understand…” Ray straightened up to look in Ryan’s eyes. “Why are you so chill about this? You’ve asked me not to keep secrets from you, and I tell you you’re in danger without any explanations and you don’t even ask for one. Why?”

“I trust you,” Ryan simply answered. “I don’t need to know everything.”

“But we’re talking about you here. _You_ are in danger because of _me_. Doesn’t it make you…I don’t know– worried?”

Ryan stared into space for a while, thinking. Ray waited patiently his answer, his heart beating harder and harder in his chest.

“Yesterday,” Ryan finally started, “you said I _might_ ’ve been in danger. Now it’s official?”

“No… But I can’t take any risks.”

Ryan slowly nodded, taking in what Ray had said. “I guess I am a little worried,” he finally admitted after another silence. “I really like you Ray and… I just… I feel like everything is going to change. Soon.”

Ray felt his heart sink. Yes, it was going to change. And Ray wasn’t sure it was going to be for the best.

“If you wanna know, I’ll tell you everything,” Ray swore. “Everything you wanna know. Maybe you won’t like me as much afterwards, but you have to promise to let me protect you. Okay?” He gently put his hand on Ryan’s cheek, turning his face to meet his eyes. “Okay?”

Ryan held his stare for a moment before looking down, seeming almost defeated. “Okay. But…not today,” Ryan pleaded, looking back at Ray. “Not tomorrow. Let’s- Let’s just…spend the weekend together, like any normal couple, just the two of us. Then, you can tell me everything. I promise it won’t change how I feel about you.”

Ray knew Ryan was meaning everything he said but he also knew this was one promise that couldn’t be fulfilled.

“Okay,” Ray softly said. “Deal. Let’s be normal.” _One last weekend_.

As if the universe wanted to seal their deal, the doorbell rang and startled the both of them. Ryan quickly got to his feet and opened the door to the pizza delivery guy. Once Ryan paid off the guy, he went back to his seat, not bothering to bring plates for their dinner.

“So, what do you wanna play?” Ryan asked as he set the box in front of them, taking out a slice for Ray.

“We could listen to a movie actually,” Ray suggested. “Unless you really want me to put my greasy hands all over your controllers.”

“Um. Hadn’t thought about that. But sure, I have a shitload of movies if you wanna pick one,” Ryan said, gesturing to one of the many shelves that covered the walls. “Though, I don’t really have anything romantic.”

“Everyone knows Godzilla is the most romantic shit there is,” Ray claimed, randomly pulling out the movie from its shelf.

“It does resemble the sounds I make when I’m making love to you.”

Ray burst out laughing as Ryan chuckled slightly, always containing himself when it came to laughter.

“Dude, you realize this image is never going to leave my head, right?”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll make you forget it soon enough,” Ryan assured him, a smile rising up one corner of his lips.

“Sure, you will…”

Ray put the movie in and quickly got back to Ryan’s side, curling up next to him, a slice of pizza in hand. As Ryan skipped the previews, Ray turned his head to look at his lover’s calm expression. Wrinkles at the corner of his eyes gave away his happiness and the faint smile still painted on his lips made Ray’s heart melt. He didn’t want to think about what was going to happen next, once the week-end would be over. Right now, he was with Ryan, they were happy, and Ray knew he’d always have this memory to cherish.

Noticing Ray’s eyes on him, Ryan put his arm around Ray’s shoulders and pulled him closer. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ray assured, looking over to the TV, comfortable against Ryan. Everything was going to be fine.


	14. In Which Ray's Heart Dies and It's All Ryan's Fault

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's right, I'm still alive. Sorry for the long wait. I actually finished writing the chapter awhile ago but didn't publish it because I wasn't sure if I was going to add another scene...but it's long enough and I've kept you guys waiting way too much already so...there you go.
> 
> Monty is mentionned once in this chapter.

It was Ryan’s voice that woke him up. They had had a wonderful weekend, and they made sure to make every night magical. During those three days, Ray wouldn’t let himself think about the conversation he was going to have with Ryan. He couldn’t think of a happy ending and he preferred to remain in the illusion that Ryan loved him, that everything was going to stay the same. But the world wasn’t going to stop for him. Los Santos had kept moving and now, Ray had to catch up with reality. At four in the morning.

“What’s going on?” Ray asked in a raspy voice. He was about to think he had imagined Ryan’s voice when his lover spoke up again.

“Your phone.”

Ryan, obviously too tired to explain the situation more, slouched next to Ray, falling back asleep. Ray’s silly ringtone finally reached his ears and the young man immediately straightened up _._ Almost tripping on the covers, Ray made his way to the living room, where his cell phone rested on the coffee table. Geoff’s number was displayed on the screen.

“Hello?” Ray said, his voice remarkably low.

“Ray, you have to get back to RT’s base with Ryan.”

“What? Why? What’s going on?”

“We need you: we’ve found them Ray.”

The young man froze, a hand on his face as he was wiping away exhaustion. _Jordan found them_. His heart started beating harder in his chest.

“All of them?”

“No, only three,” Geoff said. By the tone of his voice, he hadn’t got much sleep. “But we know where they’re going and if we can get to them, we could bring them in and make them talk. We need everyone we’ve got. Bring Ryan to the base, Gus and Jordan will protect him. Meg will be there too.”

Ryan. He wasn’t going to just follow him to the other side of Los Santos at four in the morning. They had a deal: Ray had to tell him the truth, explain everything. It wasn’t going to be something he could just drop casually, it was going to take time, and Ryan was going to ask questions, and he would be worried. And Ray hadn’t any time left.

“Ray? You still there?”

“Yeah, I… I’m on my way, give me fifteen minutes.”

“Alright. See ya then.”

Geoff hung up before Ray could say anything else. The young man stayed still for a while, phone still against his cheek. What was he going to say to Ryan? What was he going to do? He couldn’t just bring him to the base, he didn’t have enough time to explain everything properly, Ryan would get mad, he wouldn’t understand, he would do like Meg and push Ray away, he was going to hate him, he was…

“Ray… Everything alright?” Ryan’s voice asked from his room.

Ray felt tears well up in his eyes. Nothing was _alright_. Reality had caught up on him.

Swallowing back his tears, he went back to Ryan’s room and picked up his clothes on the floor. Ryan was now sitting against the pillows, fully awake.

“I gotta go,” Ray finally said as he put on his pants. He couldn’t bring himself to look Ryan in the eye. “I know I owe you some explanation but… I really gotta go.”

He quickly put his t-shirt on and finally looked up at Ryan. That’s when he finally noticed the heart-broken look on Ryan’s face. Feeling his heart melt in his chest, Ray jumped on the bed and kissed Ryan as hard as he could. He felt his arms around him and they stayed close for a moment before Ray spoke up again.

“I gotta go,” he gently whispered, his lips against Ryan’s. “I promise I’ll tell you everything when I’ll come back. Everything you wanna know, I promise…”

Ryan stayed quiet, his forehead resting on Ray’s.

“You have to stay here,” Ray went on. “Don’t go out until I come back, don’t let anyone in…”

Ryan cut him off with a kiss, so passionate it left them both breathless. His hand held on tight to Ray, and it felt like he was the last thing holding Ryan down to Earth. And the man was too afraid to let go.

“I gotta leave,” Ray said reluctantly, gently caressing Ryan’s cheek.

“I know…”

He held on to him for a couple more seconds before finally letting him free. As Ray stepped out of bed, Ryan looked down at the sheets and his sad eyes did not go unnoticed. Ray felt his throat tighten.

“I love you,” he croaked out.

Ryan looked up, a defeated look on his face.

“Be careful out there,” he simply said.

Knowing he wouldn’t be able to leave if he stayed any longer, Ray turned around and left the room, left Ryan behind. He grabbed his hoodie and got out of the apartment, a bitter taste in his mouth. He ignored the elevator and went straight to the stairs. His legs were restless; he needed to move, to feel the adrenaline in his veins instead of this thick sorrow that was taking over him. Outside, the fresh air chased away Ray’s doziness and the young man quickly jumped on his bike, destination: RT’s base.

It seemed like an eternity to Ray to get to Blaine’s County, but he arrived at the base only a few minutes behind schedule. With his messy hair and dark circles under his eyes, he wasn’t at his greatest, but Ray didn’t care. All he could allow himself to think of was how he was going to bring those bastards down. He had to stop them. For Ryan.

It was Arryn who let him in, and she quietly led him to the lounge, quickly going back to Miles’ side. All eyes turned to Ray as he came in the room, and Geoff frowned as he noticed Ray was very much alone.

“Where’s Ryan?”

“Home.”

“Weren’t you supposed to bring him in?”

“I…couldn’t.”

“You sure he’s safe there?” Lindsay asked, worried.

“I couldn’t bring him here,” Ray said, harsher than intended. “So. What do we do? Where are they? Do we have a plan?”

“They’re at Los Santos’ Port,” Jordan told him. “I got Dragon Face’s car licence from your security footage, and I was looking for it on the main roads, just in case. It could’ve been a stolen car, and I was sure he’d never use it again, but he isn’t as smart as I thought he would be. He’s been hiding in one of the warehouses with Bragg and Dooley for a while now.”

“So, we corner them at the Port, bring them here and get them to talk?”

“No,” Gus said in a stern tone. “ **Never** bring anyone in a main base, **ever**. You could get followed and lead the rest of them right to us. We have an old place downtown for that kind of stuff. You’ll bring them there for interrogation.”

“Isn’t it a bit…excessive?” Miles asked. “Nine against three?”

“Who cares,” Gus replied. “We’re not looking for a fair fight; we wanna make sure they don’t escape. And knowing Shannon, they sure as hell are more than three.”

“You think it’s an ambush?”

“Hard to say, but might as well be ready for it.”

“We _need_ to catch those bastards,” Gavin said, determined.

“Oh, we will,” Michael promised. “No way I’m letting these guys get away twice.”

Geoff turned to Gus. “We’ll need to borrow some weapons.”

“No problem, we’ve got plenty,” Blaine assured him.

“I’ll let you pick any rifle you want,” Miles said to Ray, a small smile on his lips.

Normally, Ray would’ve smiled back, shared some stupid inside-joke that would’ve made them both laugh, but this morning (if you could really call this ungodly hour ‘ _morning_ ’), he was too tensed to joke around. Blaine led the group to the armory, already bragging about how great their guns were, and Ray slowly followed his friends, his gaze drifting around the lounge. The man froze in his steps when his eyes met Meg’s. She was still sitting on the old couch, wrapped in sheets that look more yellowish than white by now. She had a confused look on her face and seemed tired as hell. Ray swore he saw her eyes sparkle when she realized she had gotten the young Lad’s attention. He gently walked up to her, arms crossed.

“Hi Meg…”

She remained quiet, but a faint (very, very faint) smile pulled up the corners of her lips.

“You okay?” Ray asked.

It was a stupid question, but he had to ask it. Meg looked down at her hands for a while before finally answering.

“Not really.”

Ray noticed the stack of blankets on the floor, next to the couch.

“Gavin’s keeping you company?”

“No, Lindsay is.”

“Must be the weirdest sleepover you guys ever had, uh?”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Meg sighed, bitter.

“I’m sorry, you know. For everything.”

Meg looked up to Ray, her annoyance slowly melting into sadness. She nodded and lay back down on the couch, clamping the blankets in her hands.

“If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” Ray went on, his voice quieter than ever.

“I want everything to go back to normal.”

Ray gritted his teeth. That’s all he wanted as well, but he knew this was one impossible wish. Unable to bring himself to lie, to tell Meg everything was going to be alright, Ray left her alone with Jordan, who was too busy working to pay attention to their exchange, and he caught up with the gang at the armory. The room’s walls were covered in guns and eccentric weapons, and Michael was still examining them cautiously when Ray showed up. Miles promptly put a rifle in his hands.

“This one’s a lot like yours, but better,” he claimed

“Oh really? Gruchy did it?”

“Nope. It’s one of Monty’s experimentations. Let’s just say it’s extra… spicy.”

“I see. Good then. It’ll hurt more.”

“You’ve got a nice collection here,” Michael commented, a small machine-gun in hand.

“With Matt’s funding, we can afford some real beauties,” Arryn said.

“Those guys don’t stand a chance against us,” Barbara beamed.

“Shannon has more than one trick up his sleeve, he probably armed his boys with some good toys,” Gus warned them.

“Oh come on, give us some credit here Gus,” Blaine whined. “We’re pretty good at stealing AH’s missions, I’m sure this will be as easy.”

“Oh shut up,” Michael snapped back. “You’re one to talk: your bank got robbed twice,” he added with a devilish smile.

“Can we focus on getting this done?” Ray asked, growing more impatient every second.

“Yeah,” Gavin agreed.

“It’ll all be over soon boys,” Geoff promised with a sympathetic smile. “Everything will get back to normal and Shannon will only be a bad dream.”

Jordan appeared at the door, a serious look on his face.

“Looks like they’re packing up their stuff. If you wanna catch them, it’s now or never.”

“I’ll stay with Jordan and we’ll be your eyes,” Gus said. “We don’t know if we’ll get another shot at this, so make it count, okay?”

“We will, don’t worry,” Michael assured him. “Gavin, you comin’ with me?”

“Yeah boi.”

“Jack and I will share a car,” Geoff said.

“I’ll drive Arryn and Miles,” Blaine offered.

“I’ll take my bike,” Barbara said.

“Same,” Ray mumbled.

“Okay then, let’s go!” Geoff said. “Be careful boys, and make sure to take them alive. We’ll meet up downtown.”

“And try to stay low,” Gus added. “Burnie and Joel are probably not on duty right now, they can’t cover our asses.”

“Duly noted,” Miles said as he led the group outside, Jordan handing out earpieces as everyone walked by him. Ray noticed Gavin glancing anxiously at a Meg, sleeping somewhat peacefully on the couch. The Brit slowed down next to Ray, but his eyes were still set on his girlfriend.

“You talked to her?”

“Yeah, a little.”

“She seemed okay?”

“Tired, but overall she looks better than she did Friday. Has she talked to you yet?”

“No,” Gavin sighed, defeated. “But she looks at me now. I sat down with her for a while and she didn’t push me back, so I guess that’s good…”

“Baby steps man.”

“Yeah… How about you? Have you, uh… Have you talked to Ryan?”

Ray slowly shook his head, holding the door for Gavin as they stepped outside. “I’m going back home as soon as we catch those guys. I’ll tell him everything then.”

“Are you bringing him here after?”

“Yeah…”

Gavin let out a weak laugh. “It’s so weird… I would’ve imagined meeting him differently.”

“So did I,” Ray sighed. “I guess life doesn’t always go as planned.”

Gavin patted him on the shoulder, giving him a half-smile before catching up Michael and Lindsay, who were already waiting for him in the car. Ray walked away and hopped on his motorcycle, Miles’ rifle on his back. He put on his earpiece and followed Jack’s car out of the parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate all of your feedback, it helps me going. Don't be shy to write a comment, a simple 'looking forward for the next chapter' is all I need to motivate myself.
> 
> Sorry about the wait, writing is hard


	15. In Which Everybody Yells a Lot and Ray Reflects on Stuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay. Sorry for the wait, I hope it'll be worth it.  
> This is definitely one of my fav chapters from this fic (the first meeting between RT and AH is pretty up there as well).  
> I am warning you: feels are incoming. (at least for me (i died a little writing this chapter (help)))
> 
> As always, thank you so much for your feedback ! <3
> 
> **Brief mention of Monty**

“ _They’re still at the Port, they’re taking their sweet time leaving the place_ ,” Gus’ voice warned them as Ray got on the highway. _“Be careful guys, this just looks more and more like a trap._ ”

“ _Trap or not, we’ll get them_ ,” Blaine said.

Ray saw the man’s car drive past him, Miles waving at him from the window. He managed to smile back and raced through the cars (why did people work so early in the morning?), adrenaline pumping in his veins. This was going to be over soon, everything was going to go back to normal…

 _"Try to stay close as much as possible,"_ Jordan recommended.  _"I know they're only three, but I've got a bad feeling about this..."_

 _"Nobody split up,"_ Geoff agreed. _"Make sure you always have someone covering your ass."_

 _"I'll take care of Michael's ass!"_ Gavin shotgunned.

 _"Ouch, does it hurt being your husband and his best friend's third-wheel Lindsay?"_ Miles asked jokingly.

_"I'm an independent woman who only needs a man from time to time, Miles."_

_"Lindsay kicks so much ass, we'd only be in her way if we tried to back her up,"_ Michael added.

"How do you guys even do small talk at five in the morning?" Ray asked, confused.

 _"We're doing something!"_ Gavin said, excited. _"It's like one of our jobs! I was so sick of twiddling my thumbs in this stupid barn..."_

 _"Hey! It's not a_ barn _, it's the greatest headquarters you'll ever see!"_ Miles replied, falsely scandalized. _"How dare you come into my house and–"_

_"Your headquarters suck!"_

_"Well, at least, ours wasn't bugged,"_ Barbara pointed out. Ray could practically hear her grin.

_"It very well could have been!"_

Too exhausted to hear once again the story of how Gavin had endangered all of their lives and their partners' for a stupid pair of sunglasses, Ray stopped listening to the debate. If he had to be angry, it had to be aimed at the enemy, not some stupid Brit with questionable priorities.

By the time they got to the Port, the sky had turned from violet to a dark shade of pink, the sun still not bothering to show up. The dim light of dawn was going to be perfect for Miles, Ray and Lindsay, who had also taken a rifle if Ray recalled correctly. The woman excelled at many things, knew how to work with many weapons, so an extra sniper wouldn't hurt in this weird boy-band armed with a gazillion submachines.

 _"We're there,"_ Geoff said to Gus and Jordan.

 _"Yeah, I see you,"_ the youngest replied. _"They're still there, they don't seem to know you joined them...or they know exactly what's going on, could be both."_

 _"We should surround them, so they have nowhere to go,"_ Blaine proposed.

 _"I'll be in the back,"_ Barbara decided.

"I'll go with you," Ray said.

_"Jack and I will take the left. Michael, you take the right"_

_"I'll take right,"_ Blaine cut him off.

_"Okay then, Michael, Lindsay and Gavin, you're in front. You're the MVPs."_

_"Well, I'm gonna go get some height, so it's only going to be starring Team Nice Dynamite tonight, sorry."_

_"Ray, there's a ladder leading to the roof of the red bunker if you want to settle there,"_ Jordan informed him.

"Okay, thanks."

Everybody moved around to get into position, Ray driving to the back of the Port with Barbara. The cars rolled swiftly, but their bikes were pretty loud in the deserted area, giving up clearly their location to the enemy. Their lack of reactions was either a sign of unbelievable stupidity or a well-thought-out plan. Ray hoped for the first option.

As the man finally located the ladder Jordan had told him about, Ray heard Miles scream Blaine's name in the radio and a huge explosion illuminated the right side of the bunker. Ray's heart skipped a beat, and before he could even ask himself what the hell was going on, a red motorcycle flew out of the bunker, passing straight by Ray and Barbara. Ray turned his bike around and chased after him, not wasting one second.

"Barbara, I need back up!" he shouted. "We can't lose him!"

 _"What the hell is going on?!"_ Geoff yelled.

 _"ARRYN!"_ Barbara screamed, her voice cracking.

 _"There's two coming out up front! I'll follow the yellow bike!"_ Michael said.

_"Jack and I will take the other one!"_

"Barb! I need you!" Ray insisted.

The red bike was going full speed ahead and having someone else around to corner this bastard wouldn't be bad.

 _"I...I'm coming,"_ Barbara said, visibly shaken up.

 _"Lindsay, we gotta leave you behind baby, sorry!"_ Michael apologized.

_"It's alright, I'm gonna go see if Miles and the others are alright, I'll keep you in the know!"_

_"They're trying to spread you apart, be careful!"_ Jordan warned them.

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock," Ray mumbled to himself.

Gripping firmly his handlebars, he was slowly catching up to the red bike. A quick glance in his left mirror informed him Barbara was almost next to him, her blonde hair a flying mess behind her. A stern look darkened her features but Ray knew how worried the girl actually was. He had felt the same when the Pacific South had burst into flames, with the Lads and Geoff still inside.

"We're gonna get this fucker and we'll make him pay," he swore to her.

 _"Oh, he's gonna pay alright,"_ the blonde said without a doubt.

Her bike sped up and Ray quickly followed her, determined not to lose this race to the red bike. Their unidentified target wasn't slowing down a bit, and the three of them headed downtown, with its jammed streets.

Lindsay's voice raised in his earpiece, breaking the silence that had settled in his right ear.

_"Blaine got us. Don't trust him. Miles and Arryn–"_

The radio turned off. Ray slowed down a bit, worried...and slightly confused. Not trusting Blaine? What did she mean?

 _"Lindsay?"_ Michael called out. _"You okay? What's going on?"_

The silence following was the quietest Ray ever witnessed. The young man's heart was about to beat out of his chest. His eyes wouldn't leave the red bike, but his head was completely elsewhere. The horrible feeling Blaine had betrayed them was slowly creeping up on him.

_"Lindsay, honey, talk to me!"_

_"What the hell is happening!"_ Geoff asked, edgy.

 _"What do you mean, about Blaine?"_ Barbara added.

_"Lindsay..."_

_"I'm here, I'm okay! Don't have time to talk."_

_"We're going back to get you."_

_"No, Michael! Keep doing what you're doing. I gotta leave."_

_"Ray, the guy's leaving the highway!_ "

The young man got back to Earth and managed to catch the highway's exit at the last second, almost colliding with some truck. Everything was going so fast, Ray couldn't even begin to register what was going on. He was going to have to wait to get answers. Right now, it was better to focus on the red bike. It was better to ignore the horrible scenario running in his head.

The red bike went around town, going through small streets filled with cars and pedestrians, forcing Barbara and Ray to go through red lights (and get nearly killed each time). But they were finally catching up to him, both of them following the guy on each side, ready to corner him in the closest alley they could force him to go in. If they would've been in a less crowded area, Ray wouldn't have thought twice about it: he would've shot the guy's tires, maybe his legs. But his speed and the traffic forced him to keep both his hands on the wheel. If only he could chuck a smoke bomb...

The red bike made a sharp turn into an alleyway, Ray nearly crashing into Barbara as the girl got after him. Ray quickly followed her in the alley and almost flew over his bike as he braked to a complete stop. At the end of the alley was a police car. And behind it, a very satisfied Dooley.

 _"What the..."_ Barbara started.

Police sirens cut her off and Ray turned his bike around.

"We need to get the fuck out of here!" he yelled at Barbara.

_"But..."_

"They made a deal! Don't get caught!"

" _Guys? Everything alright?"_ Jordan worried.

"They got the cops on their side!"

 _"What?!"_ Geoff shouted.

 _"I'm calling Burnie,"_ Gus said.

Ray and Barbara left the alley at full speed, making their way through traffic, trying to put as much distance as they could between the cop car and them.

"Barb, we have to split up. They can't follow both of us!"

_"Whoever gets away goes after Dooley?"_

"Deal."

They parted ways at the first intersection they met, Barbara going South, and Ray, North. he saw the red and blue lights in his side mirrors and let out a swear.

"Of course they're following _me._ It's 'cause I'm brown, uh!"

He sped up, trying to get to the highway. The traffic was getting worst by the seconds but the cars still managed to move away to allow the cops to get through. And if Ray got to the highway, the cops were just going to have more space to work in. Downtown, he had a chance to escape, to make his way through small alleys and leave the cops behind. Here, Ray was screwed.

"Shit. Guys, I fucked up."

 _"Where are you at?"_ Barbara asked.

A burning sensation stung his right arm as he was about to answer. He almost fell off his bike, stunned by the shock, as he yelled in pain.

"Motherfu... Really?!"

Gus spoke up in his ear. "Ray, stop. Let them arrest you. Burnie is on his way to the precinct, he'll let you out."

Ray was boiling. Two of his friends had probably died in an explosion, Lindsay was seemingly dealing with a traitor ( ** _another_** one), they had just lost Dooley, he had been shot _and now_ , he had to _surrender_ like some stupid asshole. This day was going to suck hard.

"Okay."

He slowed down, hoping he wouldn't get shot again, and stopped on the side of the road, on the grass. He let his gun fall to the ground and raised both his hands over his head as he kneeled down next to his bike. The cops slowed down in front of him, their guns pointing at Ray's head. Another wave of anger hit Ray as he realized who had been pursuing him.

"Get down on your knees!" Brandon yelled. "And don't move!"

"I'm already on my knees, you idiot!"

"Okay, then, don't move!" Chris insisted.

"I'm guessing you're the bitch who fucking shot me?" Ray figured as he noticed Chris had been in the passenger seat.

"You have the right to remain silent..." Brandon started as he walked up to him.

"Oh, I won't shut up, you can trust me on that. I'm gonna make this painful for you as it is for me."

Brandon smacked Ray's head on the ground, pressing all his weight on him. He hunched over to look at him, hatred, _pure hatred_ filling his eyes.

"I've had it up _here_ with you and your fucking crew," Brandon hissed, his hand still pressing Ray's face in the dirt.

"Well, if you can't handle it, shouldn't have picked the job."

Ray felt a finger poke into his wound, on his arm, and he let out a growl.

"You're gonna sit tight and keep your mouth shut, is that clear?"

Brandon ripped off Ray's earpiece and threw it away in the sand. His knee painfully stood on Ray's back as Brandon roughly handcuffed him. The officer pulled the man back on his feet, unconcerned about the young man's wounds. Ray could feel blood dripping from his forehead.

"My boss is gonna kill you," Ray mumbled out, clenching his jaw.

"Sure."

Brandon pulled him over to the car as Chris opened the door and helped Ray sit down on the back seat.

"You guys are so fucking annoying," Ray sighed. "Everything would be so much easier if you weren't around."

"Right back at ya."

Brandon got back on the highway, sirens now silent, and ignored Ray's glare the best he could. The young man sighed again, furious, and looked over at his bleeding arm. From what he could see, the bullet had only grazed him, nothing serious, but blood still soaked his vest. And now his head was hurting like crazy. He was going to need stitches. Again.

"Sorry about your arm..."

"Chris, don't apologize to _him_."

"Yeah, in fact, just don't talk to me."

Chris glanced at him over the mirror before keeping his head down, visibly troubled by what was happening. Not caring enough to wonder what was bothering Chris so much, Ray laid his head on the window and closed his eyes. He was so tired... Ryan was probably still asleep.

Floating between two states, Ray dozed off in the back of the car until he felt the ground shake under his feet. Confused, he opened up one eye and realized they were in the middle of the desert.

"...You're not bringing me in?" Ray asked, still sleepy.

"Nope."

Brandon seemed surprisingly calm, the complete opposite of Chris, who now looked awfully anxious. This wasn't good.

"Why are we here?"

"We don't want any witnesses."

Ray's heart fell in his chest. _No, no, no..._

"We shouldn't be here," Chris whispered.

"Shut up."

"But _–_ "

"I said: **shut up!** "

Panic took over Ray's mind. He wriggled in his seat, trying to break free of his cuffs, but only bruising his wrists more in the process.

"Let me go!"

"If you can't handle it, shouldn't have picked the job," Brandon mocked him, his tone cold as ice.

Ray froze, his eyes wide. He hadn't said goodbye to anyone. He hadn't told Gavin he forgave him, he hadn't told Meg he was going to make things right, he hadn't told the others how much he loved them and cared about them, he hadn't told Ryan he was the best thing that ever happened to him.

He hadn't told them anything, and he was never going to, and he felt sick to the stomach.

"You can't..." Ray felt out of breath, tears clouding his vision. "You can't do this! You don't have the right!"

"Oh, because you've got the right to blow up banks and kill innocent people?"

Brandon stopped the car. They were in the middle of nowhere. Ray kicked around and pulled at the handcuffs, as if he was going to magically develop super strength and break them in thousands of pieces. He was desperate. Brandon opened his door and pulled him out of the car. The officer dodge Ray's headbutt and threw the man on the ground. Chris walked up to his partner, completely distraught.

"Brandon, he told us to..."

"Fuck him! He's just like them!" Brandon yelled. "We're police officers, Chris! We're supposed to protect the law, not help criminals get past it!"

Ray tried crawling away from them, but Brandon's foot met his stomach. He curled into a ball, breathless, and looked up to the officer.

"It's because of people like you this city is so fucked up!" Brandon shouted.

"Sure...nothing to do with...corruption and all that stuff," Ray mumbled, painfully holding back coughs.

"I know Burnie and Joel made a deal with you. I can't do anything about it now, but their turn will come, believe me," Brandon swore.

The man pulled out his gun, still pointing it to the ground. Ray got himself up, kneeling in front of him. He wasn't going to look away. He wasn't going to make it easy for Brandon. He wouldn't die crying, face against the floor. He was going to look at Death straight in the eyes. Even if it scared the hell out of him.

"Brandon, we weren't supposed to kill him, he's gonna be pissed at us..."

"Wash won't even know. We need to kill him. It'll bring their spirits down, easier to catch. We can end this Chris. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Chris swayed on his feet, uncomfortable. His head fell to his chest. "Yes..."

"Then go back in the car," Brandon calmly said. "I'll be there in a second."

Chris nodded slowly. He glanced over at Ray one last time, his eyes full of regrets, and the boy walked over to the car to hide. Ray looked back at Brandon and his gun, determined.

"Any last words?" Brandon asked, any sign of kindness now gone.

"I'm going cakeless."

Brandon frowned, not getting the reference, but shrugged it off. He remove the safety and pointed his gun to Ray's head. Time seemed to stop for a moment as Ray awaited Death, body trembling. His heart stuck in his throat, he couldn't help looking away. _Ray you weak ass bitch..._ He closed his eyes as tears rolled down his cheeks. Memories of his friends surfaced in his mind.

 

Miles, Arryn.

 

Jordan, Gus.

 

Monty.

 

 

Barbara.

 

 

Meg.

 

 

 

Lindsay.

 

 

 

Gavin.

 

 

 

Michael.

 

 

 

Jack.

 

 

 

 

Geoff.

 

 

 

 

Ryan.

 

 

 

R y a n.                                                                      

         

_I don't know anything about true love..._

R   y   a   n.

 

_...but I know that as long as I can play games with you 'til morning..._

R     y     a     n.

 

_...I don't want anything else._

**R Y A N.**

The fire shots made Ray jump. Brandon let out a swear. Another round of shots riddled the ground next to Ray.

"Shit! Chris, start the car!"

Ray opened his eyes, completely baffled. He was still alive. Out of breath and his heart beating faster than ever, Ray felt like he had just ran a marathon (which he had never, _ever_ done and would never, _ever_ do). Brandon had disappeared and the police car was driving off, followed by a cloud of dirt and a hail of bullets. Ray raised his head and saw a chopper fly over him, as it aimed relentlessly at Brandon and his fucking car. A small chuckle escaped from Ray's lips as he collapsed to the ground, his head and right arm pounding at the same beat as his heart. He had no clue if the person driving the helicopter was a friend or not. **He was alive.**

The chopper followed the car for another few seconds, shooting non-stop at it, then turned around and flew back to Ray. It slowly lowered to the ground and Geoff jumped out of it as soon as it landed. He ran over to Ray, pulling the boy to his feet, and embraced him like a father reunited with his son.

"We thought you were dead, kid."

"Me too. Almost pissed my pants."

Geoff let out a small laugh. He stepped back and looked at Ray, making sure he was okay. "What happened?" he finally asked.

"Brandon, Chris... They're following orders... Wash."

"Washington?"

"It's gotta be."

"Shit... Shannon. Fuck... This means, Joel and Burnie..." Geoff stopped talking, lost in his thoughts, but quickly pulled himself back together. "Shit, okay, we'll take care of this later. For now, we need to get you back to HQ. How bad are you hurt?"

"A bullet grazed me, my head hurts..."

"Yeah, your forehead is pretty much split open."

"Courtesy of Farmahini."

"He's fucking dead."

"I know. Already told him."

Geoff smiled, even though he didn't seem happy. "Come on, let's got you out of these cuffs..." He pulled Ray's arms back and shot one bullet through the chain, breaking Ray free. The skin on his wrists was bright pink, scraped raw on the sides, but Ray wasn't bothered by the blood. He had seen worst.

"Everybody's okay?" he asked as Geoff helped him walk to the chopper. "Miles, Arryn...?"

"Alive," Geoff reassured him, pulling him in the cabin.

"Ray! Are you okay?" Jack asked, worried sick.

"Yeah. Thanks for saving my ass...  Speaking of which, how _did_ you find my ass?"

"Barbara followed the cops and kept us in the loop," the bearded man explained as the chopper was taking off. "We figured they had gotten rid of your earpiece so you couldn't tell where they were taking you. After that, Barbara went after Dooley, but he was long gone."

"How about Lindsay? Is she okay?"

"Yeah. Blaine got away, but she's fine," Geoff told him, his eyes looking tired.

"So he really betrayed us, uh?"

"Looks like it..." Jack sighed as the chopper reached its cruising altitude. "This thing is turning into a real nightmare."

"Why would he do something like that?" Ray asked. "He...I mean, he loves us! He loves Rooster Teeth, why would he betray them!"

"I don't know," Geoff said. "We're gonna need to have a little chat with Gus about that...but I'm pretty sure he's as fucking stunned as we are."

"Did you catch anyone else? Any of the bikers?"

"Jack and I were losing Bragg when you got caught," Geoff admitted. "We decided to give up to get you."

"So all of this was for nothing?" Ray moaned, worn out.

"Michael and Gavin caught Dragon Face."

 _Holy shit, yes._ Finally they had the fucking advantage (well, some advantage) in this fucking mess.

"They're bringing him in for interrogation," Jack went on.

"I wanna go."

"You need to rest–"

"I wanna be there!" Ray insisted. "I'm alive, I'm okay. You can patch me up later."

Jack seemed unhappy. "I'll patch you up over there," he compromised.

"Deal."

The chopper carefully made his way towards the city, the sun slowly rising up in Los Santos' sky. Ray eased up in his seat, the stress from the last minutes, hell, last hours finally replaced by soothing relief. The nightmare was far from being over, and Ray knew it, but he was alive, and right now, that's all that mattered.

He closed his eyes, Ryan's image quickly invading his mind. He couldn't wait to see him, he couldn't wait to hear his voice again.

_And together, we're the greatest bitches of Los Santos._


	16. In Which Dragon Face Is the Worst and Screw Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whaaat another chapter so soon!!11!!1  
> Yes.
> 
> I'm gonna say this right ahead: I'm sorry.
> 
> If you wanna share thoughts/what you think will happen next, leave a comment down below or hit me up on tumblr (darkspazio), I'll be more than happy to hear about what you have to say! Thank you for your support so far! <3

Ray couldn't recall getting himself out of the helicopter and into a car, and he woke up confused in the backseat of Geoff's car as it rolled into the parking lot of an old building. Geoff looked over at him and smiled as he realized the young man had finally awoken.

"Good morning Princess. You done drooling all over yourself?"

"Where are we...?"

"RT's interrogation room. That's where they bring in people they catch," Jack said. "It's not too far from your place if you wanna head back and get some rest."

"No, I wanna know what Shawcross has to say."

"Okay, fine..." Jack was apparently not delighted by Ray's request, but injured or not, Ray needed answers and he wasn't going to wait another minute to get them. He laboriously got out of the car and followed Jack and Geoff to the back door. The walls were covered in graffiti and cigarette butts littered the ground. This was definitely his neighborhood.

Geoff knocked twice on the door and waited for someone to let them in. Lindsay was the one to great them, her tired eyes lighting up briefly as she saw Ray. Her lower-lip was busted and it looked like she was going to have a black eye, but nothing was going to prevent her from being the beamiest of all.

"Ray... Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

She stepped aside to let them in, closing the door behind Ray. The place was even smaller than his apartment, with only two rooms. The biggest one, where Ray stood, had an old couch (who looked about to break in half) and a bunch of coffee tables covered in old newspapers and empty cups. On the couch were Miles and Arryn, both completely exhausted. Their clothes were soaked in blood and dirt, much like Ray, except theirs had burn marks on top of it all. Barbara was sitting next to Arryn, cleaning her wounds, as Miles was all patched-up. He looked up at Ray and smiled.

"Hey man... You've made it."

"What the hell happened to you two?" Ray asked.

"Bomb," Arryn replied, her voice shaky. Blood trickled down her cheek from a nasty cut. "Blaine left us in the car. It was all planned, he was supposed to drive us over to the right and leave us to die."

"But we were totally onto him. He was sweating like crazy, super nervous, which is not like him, so we knew something was wrong." Miles moaned as he sat up straight. "I tried to stop him from getting out because he was freaking us out and he punched me right in the jaw. We barely had time to get away from the car, I have no clue how we're still here."

"I don't even know if we really are," Arryn joked, wincing in pain as Barbara apologized.

"I can't believe it," Ray sighed, completely overwhelmed by the whole situation. "Why would Blaine do something like this..."

Miles shrugged. "I don't know man. We'll probably get answers soon though." He pointed over Ray's shoulder with his left hand (his right arm visibly incapable of movement). A window in the wall allowed them to see in the another room. There was a rusty table in its center with two chairs that were barely still standing. On one of them was sitting Dragon Face, blood dropping from his smiling lips. In front of him was a really pissed-off Michael, and Gavin was observing the scene from afar, a serious look on his usually cheerful face.

"Did they already start?" Ray asked.

"Nah," Barbara answered. "He didn't want to say anything before you'd got here."

"What? Why?"

"Don't know. But I don't think Michael can take any more of this silence treatment," Lindsay said as she sat on the edge of one of the coffee tables.

"I'll make that fucker talk," Geoff assured them. He left the group and walked over the other side. All eyes turned to him as he entered the room. Ray made sure he didn't miss a thing as Jack slowly guided him to another table and sat him down to take care of his wounds.

Geoff walked up to Michael and stopped at his side, looking down at Dragon Face. "Heard you didn't feel like talking?"

"I'm waiting for someone."

"Well, Ray's on the other side. If you got something to say, now's the time."

Shawcross looked over to the window, a weird smile creeping up on his face. Ray wiggled around in his seat, unsettled.

"He can't see me, can he?"

"No, it's a one-way window," Lindsay reassured him.

"Stop moving so much Ray..." Jack grumbled as he tried to stitch him up.

"What time is it?" Dragon Face suddenly asked, looking back at Geoff.

"Why do you wanna know?" Michael shot back.

Shawcross shrugged. "Just curious, that's all."

"Well, you're not the one who's gonna ask questions here," Geoff cut him off, sitting across from him, unusually calm. Michael crossed his arms and started pacing behind him, his eyes still set on Dragon Face. That was always how it went when they'd interrogate someone. Geoff asked the questions and Michael played tough to speed things up.

"You can go now Gav," Geoff dismissed him.

"I wanna stay."

"Buddy, you know two is more than enough to–"

"I've got questions for him too."

Geoff looked around to look at his boy, confused. "Okay, whatever..." He turned back to Dragon Face. "Okay, first of all: what the fuck do you want from us?"

"Me? Nothing," Shawcross said. "My boss on the other hand... He's got plans for you."

"Plans?"

"It mostly involves death. Some gore depending on who we're talking about."

"Great," Michael said, "so we want the same things."

Dragon Face looked up to him, far from being intimidated. "I have no idea what he has against you guys, but you really pissed him off."

"And who is _he_ exactly?"

"If you haven't figured it out by now, you are in deep shit..."

"Hey, either you answer the question or you shut your mouth," Michael snapped.

"We just wanna make sure we're on the same page," Geoff went on, unmoved.

"Knowing who I'm working for should be the least of your concerns," Shawcross assured them.

"Yeah, it's gotta be Shannon anyway, I mean, who else," Geoff figured. An imperceptible frown on the other man's face caught his eye. "Oh, I meant to say Washington. Wow, he didn't even tell you his real name? I thought he'd tried to get himself surrounded with people he trusts."

"He trusts me," Shawcross replied, insulted.

"Sure, if you say so," Geoff sighed, not caring. "Let's get down to business." His eyes set on Shawcross, his nonchalant glare turning deadly cold. "Is Blaine working with you guys?"

Ray caught Barbara straightening in her seat in the corner of his eyes. Jack stopped his work to look over his shoulder, curious about what was going to happen next.

"Gibson?" Dragon Face chuckled, an evil grin on his bloodied lips. "I mean, he's new but yeah, he's with us. Surprise."

"Son of a bitch," Barbara growled, furious.

"Since when?" Geoff went on.

"Officially? About a week. But we contacted him earlier on and he wouldn't take the deal. Bastard knows what he's worth."

"You bought him?"

"It's crazy what people will do for money man," Shawcross said. "Outlaws or not."

"So you also bought Farmahini and Demarais."                   

"Didn't take much convincing," Shawcross told him. "Farmahini really hates your gut."

"Yeah, he's an old friend."

"Do all of your old friends want to kill you?"

"Looks like it," Geoff mumbled. "We know that you also got Denecour. What did he tell you about us?"

"Nothing we didn't already know. For someone who claims knowing every secret of this city, he ain't that useful, is he?"

"Hey, you're the idiot who bought him," Geoff said. "Did you buy other people? Freelancers?"

Gavin tensed up, still quiet in his corner.

"If I told you how many of us there really was, my boss would kill me."

"Because you think it'll be any different if you act like a little bitch with us?" Michael asked.

"I know what Wash can do. If I have to die, I'd rather have you do it than him."

Michael laughed, bitter. "If that's what you want..."

"Did you buy anyone else?" Geoff repeated, growing slightly impatient.

"Our network is expanding," Shawcross finally admitted.

"Who's providing you your weapons?" Gavin asked, stepping out of the dark.

Dragon Face looked up to him, confused. "Sorry?"

"Someone's supplying you. Did you buy him?"

"Gavin, what are you..."

"Let him answer!" Gavin cut Michael off. He turned back to Shawcross. "So, did you buy him or not?"

The man's smile grew even more as he looked at the Brit. "You're his friend, aren't you?"

"Whose friend?" Michael asked.

"Gavin, what the fuck is he talking about?"

"Dan! Did you buy him or not! Is he working with you?"

Ray felt like a bucket of cold water was dropped on his head. _Not Dan..._ He couldn't have betrayed them, he'd known them for so long. He had been missing for a while, he might have been kidnapped by those bastards, _but he couldn't be **working** with them._ He didn't have the right to do that to Gavin, he couldn't be such a jerk to his B. Those guys already had Caleb and Blaine, they couldn't have Dan...

Shawcross shook his head, his smile fainting. "We didn't buy him. He didn't want to."

"Then where is he?" Gavin asked, getting closer. "What have you done to him?"

"He's with us."

"What? But–"              

"My boss doesn't take 'no' for an answer."

"The fuck does that mean?" Michael asked.

"He needed him, he needed his contacts. We're taking good care of him, don't worry."

"You have no right– You're keeping him against his will!" Gavin cried out. "You're forcing him to help you!"

"Yup. Well, in the beginning, he was mostly trying to find a way to get out, but he got sick of the beatings so..."

Michael barely managed to keep Gavin away from Shawcross, the Brit ready to tear the horrible grin off the man's face. "You bastard!" he yelled, flailing his arms at the guy. "Let him go! He has nothing to do with this!"

"There's a lot of people in this story who don't have something to do with this, don't you think?" Shawcross said. "Your pretty little Meg, for instance."

"Don't... Don't you dare bring her up!"

"Michael, get him out of here," Geoff ordered, unamused by Shawcross' little game.

"She looks so precious, it's a pity really..."

"You little prick, if you do anything to her, I will..."

"Oh come on, let's be real here: you'd be devastated if something would happen to her, you wouldn't even be able to lift yourself off the ground."

Shawcross' words hit Gavin hard, leaving him speechless. He let Michael pull him away from the table. His face was expressionless, Ray had never seen him so helpless. Michael walked over to the other room, settling Gavin in a corner. He stood by his friend, letting Geoff take care of the interrogation by himself. The man was staring angrily at Shawcross, furious at him for upsetting Gavin so much.

"You know you're all screwed right? We're gonna find you. All of you, one by one. I don't care how long it takes, we're gonna kill you all. For what you did to Dan, for what you did to my boys, for what you wanna do to our families. We're gonna kill you one by one, and it's gonna be painful."

"Speak all you want. You might not be around for much longer anyway."

"Oh yeah? How's that?"

"Because we're gonna take out your best players, we're gonna make them fall _one by one_ until there's no one left to hold the fort."

"I find that hard to believe."

"You're gonna lose Ramsey, whether you like it or not. You're gonna lose and you won't even see it coming, 'cause you're too comfortable. You're used to 'easy'. You've been VIP for so long, you don't even know how to handle a rival crew anymore. And now you're too proud to admit our empire is bigger than yours."

"Empire? Built on what? Traitors that could turn on you just like they turned on us?"

"Caleb won't leave."

"Don't be so sure about that. He can be a real dick sometimes."

"He knows what Wash does to traitors."

"Ah, so it's built on fear, I see. That always works out great."

"Welcome to the real world, Geoff," Dragon Face spat, leaning closer to the man's face. "People get hurt, some even die. You can't control a city just by sitting on your ass. If you want power, you have to work for it."

"If Shannon has something to say, he can come and say it. But if all he wants is a fight, it's a fight he'll get."

"Washington will do as he pleases. No one can stop him."

"Oh, we will," Geoff assured him. "Where's your base?"

Shawcross let out a surprised laugh before letting himself go, his laugh as creepy as his grin. "Are you serious? You really think I would tell you, just like that?"

"I could ask Michael to come back. He's got a sweet knife collection he wants to show you."

Michael took a step forward, stopping as soon as Shawcross replied. "You can't kill me. I'm valuable, I have information."

"Information you are not willing to give, so who gives a fuck if you're valuable. I'd rather get rid of you as fast as I can, before your 'crew' comes in to rescue your stupid ass. So, last chance to be useful: where's your base?"

The two men stared at each other for a while, with their ultimate poker face on as silence filled the air in both rooms. After what seemed an eternity, Geoff stood up, giving Michael the go to come in. "Well, I'm done with you then. Thanks for nothing, asshole."

"You shouldn't have left him alone Ray."

The young man sprang out of his seat, a horrible feeling gripping his stomach. He walked over to the window as Shawcross turned around to face him, trying to see Ray through the mirror.

"I'm sorry, what?" Geoff snapped, annoyed.

Shawcross stayed quiet, a satisfied grin lifting up the corners of his lips. He turned back to Geoff, his eyes dark. "I told you Ramsey. You're gonna lose them one by one. Wash's keeping you and Sorola for last." His expression completely changed, a warm smile lighting up his face. "But enough about that. Didn't Michael want to show me something?"

Ray looked over his shoulder at the others, panic slowly getting ahold of him. "What... What did he mean? Did he... No... He wasn't talking about Ryan, right?" The silence made his heart drop and Jack's sad look made him want to throw up. "God, no..." He walked over to the exit but was stopped by Lindsay before he could get to the door.

"He's talking out of his ass," she said. "It might be a trap."

"And what if it isn't? What if Ryan's in danger because of me?"

"Call him before running blind into this. We already almost lost you once today, I don't wanna go through it all again."

"You don't understand: I **can't** lose him!"

"I'll drive. You call him from the car, okay?"

"I'm not done stitching you up!" Jack stepped in.

"We'll finish later."

Ray stormed outside, followed closely by Lindsay, and got in the passenger seat of Michael's car. Lindsay didn't waste any time, immediately starting the engine.

"Where to?"

"Downtown. Atlee Street."

"Okay."

As she got out of the parking lot, Ray took out his cell phone, which was already vibrating.

_"Geoff – 8:01AM : Don't do anything stupid kid."_

He ignored his texts and typed in Ryan's number as fast as his fingers could. " _Come on, come on, come on..._  Pick up the phone, baby, please, pick up–"

_"Hi!"_

"Ryan!"

_"You've reached Ryan. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks. ...bye."_

"Shit!"

"Is he okay?" Lindsay asked, concerned.

"Got his voicemail... Fuck, Lindsay... If something happened to him, I..."

"We're gonna find him Ray. We'll get to him before it's too late," she promised.

Ray closed his eyes as they teared up and rested his head against the seat, his heart caught in his throat. This day was a complete mess. He never should've let Ryan alone, he should've brought him along, he should've brought him to RT's headquarters, he should've explained it all, promised him that he was going to fix everything. Ryan would've been with Meg, with Jordan and Gus. He would've been safe. Leaving him like that, alone, asleep and vulnerable... Ray had basically handed him over to Shannon and his guys.

"Ray, you fucking idiot..." he sighed, voice trembling.

"None of this is your fault Ray."

"Yes it is! I should've told him everything to begin with! In fact, you know what? I should've said nothing to him! Nothing at all, not even 'hi'! I should've left him alone, at that stupid charity fair, I should've let him date this stupid chick he didn't even like and Shannon would've never even bothered looking him up! I put a target on his back Linds! This _is_ all my fault!"

Lindsay stayed quiet, unable to find something to reassure him, to make him feel like everything was going to be okay. She stayed quiet and focused on getting to Ryan's place as fast as they could. Ray felt grateful. He didn't want to hear any lies, even if they were supposed to make him feel better. He _deserved_ to feel horrible. And he wouldn't let himself feel otherwise until he could have Ryan in his arms again, until he had absolute proof Ryan was well and alive.

As they drove to Ryan's apartment, Ray called over and over his boyfriend's phone, always getting his voicemail. He threw his phone in the backseat when he realized they were getting closer and, as soon as the car slowed down, he jumped out and ran inside the building.

"Ray, wait up!"

He didn't have time to wait. He ran up the stairs to Ryan's apartment, not stopping to catch his breath. Someone in the hallway looked at him funny as he passed by. Ray couldn't care less. His forehead was half stitched-up, his clothes were covered in dirt and blood, but he couldn't care less. He had to see Ryan, _now_.

He knocked at his door, desperate. "Ryan, open up, please!" he cried out as Lindsay finally caught up to him. He stopped knocking to search his pockets. He grabbed his set of keys, looking for Ryan's.

"Wow, he gave you his key? You guys were really getting serious, uh?"

"It's faster than having to break in."

He pushed the key in and unlocked the door, stumbling in the apartment. It seemed unchanged.

"Ryan!" Ray yelled. "Where are you?"

As he walked by the kitchen, he noticed a broken cup on the floor, coffee spilled all around it.

" **Ryan!** "

In the hallway, a trail of blood was leading to the bedroom. _No, no no..._ Ray ran to the room, praying to God and whatever else was out there that Ryan was okay. He stopped dead in his tracks when he reached the doorway. He slowly stepped inside the room, not sure if his heart was still beating. He fell to his knees, his whole body shaking.

"God, no..."

The bed was empty, and the sheets were covered in red. As was the wall.

"Did you find him?" Lindsay asked from the hallway. "Oh my god... Ray..."

He knew her hand was on his shoulder but couldn't feel it.

Ryan was dead.

And so was he.


	17. In Which Meg Is a Sweetie and Breathing Always Helps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY. I'll say this right now so it doesn't break the mood at the end of the chapter.
> 
> I'm very sorry for the long wait. I can't say when the next chapter will be up, but I'll try to make it a little less angsty (should've told you guys I was a sucker for angst and tears, woops). Anyway, I made it to university now and with my anxiety, it's taking a lot out of me. I wanted to put this chapter out for you guys because it was already half done and it would've been atrocious to leave you guys hanging on that cliff-hanger for so long but I probably won't post another chapter until the end of December (in fact, I will probably only have time to write at the end of December so don't expect anything before January really...). I hope you won't forget about this story by then. Anyway, thanks for your support, thanks for your comments, and kudos, and bookmarks. It feels incredible to know you guys like this and your feedback is so important to me. Sorry if I don't always reply back in the comments, but I do appreciate everyone's feedback.
> 
> Lots of love to you all!
> 
> (Didn't have time to go over this chapter a lot so it might have a few typos, sorry)
> 
> **Also, Monty is mentionned about 2-3 times in there***

He had no idea how much time had passed, on his knees in Ryan's bloody room, but his legs had gone numb by the time Lindsay took ahold of herself and tried to get him up. In fact, it felt like his whole body had fell asleep, and Ray was trapped inside himself, forced to look at this horrible scene he would have never wanted to see. His thoughts were like white noise on an old TV but three words kept coming through this numbing storm.

_Ryan is dead._

Lindsay pulled him on his feet, gripping him tightly against her. "I am _so_ , so sorry." Ray couldn't speak, a horrified look on his face. His heart felt heavier than ever in his chest, his throat so tight he could barely breathe, his head about to explode, but Ray couldn't cry. Everything was so surreal, it couldn't be possible.

_Ryan is dead._

Lindsay slowly stepped back, away from the bed, pulling Ray with her. "We gotta go Ray..." The man stayed quiet, unable to take his eyes away from the red sheets. He didn't fight back as Lindsay carried him out of the room, whispering reassuring words as she walked to the door. She turned him around and led them to the exit. Ray's eyes landed on the broken cup on the kitchen's floor. His mind got to work as Lindsay closed the apartment door behind them.

Ryan had gotten back to sleep after Ray's rushed departure but he had only gotten another hour of sleep. He couldn't stay in bed any longer, alone and worried about what his boyfriend was getting into at four in the morning. He had gotten up, made himself a cup of coffee, and someone had knocked on the door. A glimpse of joy must have warmed his heart : Ray was already back, safe and sound. He didn't know what danger really lurked upon him, he should've worried more about his own life than Ray's. He had opened the door and it had all came down to him. He tried pushing the intruder away. They must have hit him, on the head, in the stomach, hard, and he had dropped his cup of coffee, letting it crash onto the ground. He didn't know what to do, he didn't have Ray's instincts. He had ran back to his room, where he felt safe. He wanted to get away from the intruder, from the blows. He had gotten himself in a dead-end.

_Ryan is dead._

The elevator's doors opened and Ray puked on the floor. Lindsay didn't let go of him, gently stroking his back, a worried look on her face. "You okay?" Ray shook his head, tears gleaming at the corner of his closed eyes.

Ryan screamed, cried, pleaded. He might have shouted his name, imploring for his help. But Ray didn't come to the rescue.

Lindsay helped Ray back up and took him outside, ignoring the concerned glares they were getting from the few onlookers in the lobby. She walked to the car and settled Ray in the passenger seat. "Wait here, I'll go back up there to look for clues. Maybe Ryan isn't..."

"Lindsay, you saw the blood. Do you really think someone could ever survive that?"

The young woman bit her lip, eyes filled with tears. She wanted to make her friend feel better, she wanted to make things right, to find some hope to hold on to, but there was nothing she could do. Defeated, she let out a sigh, nodded and got back behind the wheel. She started the engine without saying a word and slowly made her way back to RT's HQ.

Ray leaned on the headrest and closed his eyes, trying to keep himself from crying. He didn't have any false hope, but that wouldn't keep him from pushing reality away as far as possible. The image of Ryan, his face swollen, blood dripping from his mouth, wouldn't leave his mind. His body tighten on itself, his lungs, his stomach, his heart... He had never wanted to even consider what he could feel like to lose Ryan, to get through something so horrible. And now that he felt it, he wanted to die.

Lindsay broke the silence, her voice shaking. "Ray, breathe."

The man obeyed, letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. All the tension in his body was set free at once and he burst into tears. He cowered in pain, his hands on his head. His skin vibrated, a numbing sensation going through his body as everything turned into a blur. Sound, vision, touch. He could feel Lindsay's hand on his arm from time to time, but aside from the pain, Ray couldn't feel anything. He noticed he had stopped crying as they got to RT's place.

Lindsay pulled him out of the car and helped him walk inside. The others were back from the city, and their conversation fell flat as Lindsay and Ray walked into the room. The red-haired led him to Meg's couch as the girl promptly stepped away to give them more space, wondering what was wrong. Geoff, Michael and Jack was by their side in a second.

"Where's Ryan?"

"Is he okay?"

Ray sat down, staring blankly at the ground. Lindsay drew the others away to explain the situation, but Ray would've heard her from anywhere.

_Ryan is dead._

RT's base had never been more quieter. Michael slowly walked away to digest the news, his hands on his head, completely overwhelmed by what was going on. Lindsay shot a quick glance at Ray, smiled apologetically, and followed his husband as Gus and the others walked to her, wondering what was going on. Geoff stepped closer to Ray, sitting by his side. He put a hand on his shoulder, looking sad as ever.

"This is...unbelievable Ray. I'm so sorry. If you need anything, just ask and consider it done. Take all the time you need..."

Ray nodded, unable to even look at Geoff. Jack crouched in front of him, his sweet eyes filled with sorrow. He opened his arms, offering a hug.

"I just wanna sleep," Ray declined quietly.

Jack lowered his arms, saddened. "Okay... But you gotta let me finish your stitches."

"Sure."

Sensing they were not going to get anything more from him, Geoff let out a sigh and got up. He took a step and looked back at Ray, his eyes suddenly dark. "You know we're gonna make them pay, right?"

Ray nodded again, barely looking up to Geoff. The man smiled slightly and walked back to the others, standing next to Gus, his arms crossed. Jack left for a few seconds, getting his hands on a first aid kit, and quickly finished the stitches on Ray's forehead before getting to his right arm. His whole body still was numb, the young man barely felt the stinging pain. He couldn't feel anything, couldn't see anything, couldn't hear anything. But those three little words still tortured his mind.

_Ryan is dead._

He woke up dazed, tucked in a ton of soft blankets. He couldn't remember falling asleep but exhaustion had apparently gotten the best of him as soon as Jack had been done with him. Dizzy and confused, Ray slowly sat up straight, pushing the covers away from him. A few feet away from him were standing Geoff, Gus and the others, quietly discussing some important matter. Monty was sitting at his usual spot, absentmindedly looking into space as the others stood in a circle, with their arms crossed. Barbara and Gavin were missing (in fact, Ray didn't recall seeing them at all since he had come in) and it was when he looked around to find them that Ray realized someone was sitting by his side.

He jumped, startled, and winced as Meg gently put her hand on his arm to reassure him.

"Sorry!"

"Jesus Christ... Didn't see you there."

"I'm sneaky." Meg smiled, but the gloominess that had taken ahold of her for the past days still darkened her once gleeful eyes. Reality hit Ray in the face as he looked at her.

_Ryan is dead._

He felt his shoulders sag as grief squeezed his heart. _Fuck._ He still couldn't believe it. He didn't know if he'd believe it one day, that he wasn't having a bad dream (the worst dream), that he'd really lost all that mattered.

Meg seemed to notice his change of mood and her hand went up his arm, on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. About your boyfriend..."

Ray shrugged, trying to keep the tears from falling. It felt stupid pretending to be tough. The man he loved had been killed for god's sake. No one expected him to be unmoved. He let his head fall to his chest, unable to speak.

Meg moved closer, holding Ray against her in a friendly hug. "When Gav told me you had found someone, I was so happy for you," she said with a soft tone. "I would've love to meet him."

"I'm sure you would've got along," Ray whispered, staring into nowhere. He put a hand on Meg's arm, appreciating her support. "He is...incredibly sweet. And he makes anything interesting. I could listen to him reading the Bible and I wouldn't even be bored. He has the greatest voice..." Ray looked over at Meg. The young woman gave him a sad smile. "He would've loved you, you know? He would've wanted to know everything about your job. He would've wanted you to tell him about all the craziest things that'd happened over the years..."

"What would he have said when he'd know Gavin was a part of everyone of them?"

"He would've wanted to meet him too."

"They hadn't?" Meg asked, surprised.

Ray shook his head, words barely making it out. "No. I... I couldn't– If I had introduced him to the others, he would've asked questions. I didn't want to lie. Not more than I had to."

"Not like Gavin."

Ray glanced at Meg. "You know he only lied to protect you, right?"

"I do... But I can't help but realize that you never can really be protected."

Ray remained quiet, trying to keep away the horrible memory of Ryan's room.

"I'm not angry at him," Meg suddenly said. "I was at first, because I thought _everything_ was a lie, but then... I realized nothing's really different. You guys are the same couple of drunk-heads that hang out at my bar, whether you're outlaws or a filming crew."

Ray let out a small laugh, surprised by Meg's reasoning. "You don't mind about what we do?"

Meg shrugged. "I saw worst. There's horrible guys out there, in Los Santos. You're not horrible. You're doing some pretty not legal stuff, but you're not screwing over innocent people. You're still human. And that's why I can't stay angry at Gavin. Because I'm helping keeping him human. With me, he's...him. And I know it's important to him, to have someone with who he can truly be himself. And I'm lucky he chose me, because I am completely, absolutely in love with this guy. I'm glad he finally admitted what he really does for a living. In the end, it'll bring us closer."

Ray nodded, thoughtful. It was for the same reasons Ryan was so important to him. He had never had someone with whom he could share everything. They didn't have the same opinions on things, but Ryan was always willing to hear him out, to understand his point of view, as was Ray. They loved each other's sense of humour, they laughed together, they talked, they sang (badly), they stayed quiet. They could do anything together. Now, Ray could buy the greatest mansion Los Santos had to offer, it would never feel like home without Ryan. He had lost it all. He had lost Ryan, and with him, a precious part of himself.

_Ryan is dead._

Meg jumped as Burnie stormed into the room, followed seconds later by a much more discreet Joel. Fists clenched, face red, Burnie was furious. "I've got two cops threatening to report us, citizens fearing for their lives, a mayor asking us what the fuck is going on, and we have no fucking clue how to even get to Shannon?!"

"Hi Burnie," Gus said.

"Go fuck yourself. Don't 'Hi Burnie' me while my whole world is collapsing on itself."

"We almost lost four of us today," Gus went on, unmoved by Burnie's speech.

"Boo-fucking-hoo," Burnie snapped. "I told you not to play with explosives, not my problem if you can't bother to listen. And I've heard you had a mole too? Are you rookies or what!"

"We didn't know Wash was being this serious."

"Yeah, well try to be more serious yourselves. Joel and I could lose our _jobs_. We've been taking big risks for you guys."

Geoff stepped in, standing close to Burnie's face. He seemed so angry, Ray was surprised he wasn't already beating the shit out of his old friend. "They killed Ray's boyfriend."

Burnie's anger instantly dropped. "What?" He glanced over at the young man. Meg's hand squeezed gently his shoulder, reminding Ray of her reassuring presence.

"We know this isn't a fucking game," Geoff growled. "And there's a whole lot more to lose than a fucking job."

Burnie's eyes were set on Ray. "He wasn't from the streets?" Ray shook his head. "Damn... Really sorry, man."

"We all are," Gus joined in, sincere.

Ray nodded quietly, thankful. He stared at his feet, all the attention making him feel uncomfortable. An awkward silence took hold of the room but was quickly interrupted by the opening of a beer can. Everybody turned to Joel.

"You guys have a great stockpile," he said, impressed.

"Luckily, otherwise, we'd be short every time you'd pass by," Gus snarked.

"What do we do with Shannon?" Burnie sighed, worried.

"I don't know. There's no way to know where he's hiding," Geoff replied.

"What were you guys up to earlier anyway?"

"We wanted to catch some of Shannon's guys," Jordan said. "They were three, but obviously, they had a plan to make sure no one got caught."

"But we got one!" Miles cheered.

"You made him talk?" Burnie asked.

"We tried," Michael groaned. "Son of a bitch wouldn't."

"Gavin and Barbara stayed with him in RT's downtown location," Jack said. "I don't think they'll make him talk, but we can't let him go."

"You won't kill him?" Burnie seemed surprised. "Didn't they bug your warehouse?"

"Oh, I'd love to blow his brains out," Geoff assured him, "but we can still use him. To lure Shannon to us, or send a message."

"We discovered they had one of your friends," Monty added. "The freelancer. Dan."

"Dan? _The_ Dan?"

"Yeah, they got him, few weeks ago we think," Geoff sighed.

"Fuck..." The information seemed to overwhelm Burnie. "He's building an empire."

"That's exactly what Dragon Face said!" Miles pointed out. "About it being an empire!"

"An empire based on fear," Geoff nodded, his eyes dark.

"We can't let him get any stronger," Burnie claimed. "He's gonna make us fall. All of us. RT, AH... He's gonna throw Joel and I out of the force... He's gonna buy the whole city guys."

The officer looked at them one by one, his eyes filled with worry. They were screwed. Shannon had the upper hand : he knew where they were hiding, he knew all of their weaknesses. Brandon, Chris, Blaine, Dan... There was no way to know how many worked for Shannon, how many could betray them, how many were gonna disappear. The future didn't seem so bright.

"We won't let that happen," Michael said, fiercely.

"But how are we going to prevent it?" Arryn asked. "Shawcross won't talk, and we're short on leads."

"I can try to find back Bragg and Dooley," Jordan guessed, indecisive. "Maybe they could lead me to their base... Or someplace else, I don't know..."

"I can go see Shawcross," Gus offered. "Find a way to break him."

"Joel and I can't do anything for you," Burnie said. "With Farmahini and Demarais in our ass... They're checking our every move, we can't take the risk."

"But we need you guys!" Geoff shouted. "Now more than ever! Shannon's got an army by his side. We just lost three players!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what players are we talking about?" Miles intervened. He glanced at his girlfriend before turning back to Geoff. "Arryn and I will keep on fighting. Couple scratches won't take us out."

"Miles, he can barely stand up," Jordan pointed out.

"And? I'm a sniper! I'm always lying down!"

"Miles, you'll be dead before you know it if we let you get out there," Gus said. "You might be able to shoot, but if they find you, you won't be able to get away."

"Then we just make sure nobody finds me."

"Who's player number three?" Joel asked, curious.

Geoff shot a quick glance at Ray. The young man instantly got up. "You're kidding right?"

"Ray, what happened was horrible, I can't ask you to– "

"Geoff, that's _exactly_ what Shannon wanted. He wanted to get me out of the game. If I stay here, doing nothing, it'll only serve him right..." Blood on the wall. Ray shook his head. "I can't. I can't stay here and do nothing. I'll go nuts."

"This isn't a good idea," Jack stepped in, concerned. "This is a hard time for you and– "

"Yeah, and Shannon won't wait for me to get better to strike again."

"Ray, if you end up facing a life or death kinda situation, what tells us you'll make the right choice?" Jack asked.

"The right choice is getting rid of Shannon," Ray said. "So who cares if I go down with him to end this. It's game over either way, right?"

Michael walked over, shaking his head. "No. No, no, no, we're not losing you over this."

"We don't have a plan. We have to get rid of him as soon as we can!"

"How? By throwing ourselves at him with a fucking bomb?"

"That could work."

"No!" Michael's eyes shined with anger. "Ray, you can't do this to me man! You can't say stuff like that!"

"THEY REDID THE PAINT ON RYAN'S WALLS WITH HIS BLOOD."

Dead silence filled the room. Ray looked at his friends one by one, slightly out of breath as tears distorted his vision. His eyes set on Michael, on his best friend. He'd never seen him so painfully sad. Ray slowly shook his head. "I don't care what happens. I want them to die. That's all I want."

Michael stared at him for a while without saying a word until his sadness turned into cold anger. "I'm not letting you die for this." He turned around and walked back to Lindsay, his hands visibly shaking.

Burnie cleared his throat. "I can't promise anything. I'm not saying we'd just stand there and do nothing if we've ever got the chance to end it. But as long as we don't have a plan...we can't risk getting caught." He looked over at Geoff and Gus, bleak, and slowly stepped back towards the exit. "Come on Joel... Let's go."

The man set his beer on the table and followed his partner outside, waving gently at the group as they left. Geoff let out a bitter laugh once they were gone. He walked to the table and violently knocked the beer to the ground, alcohol spilling all over the floor.

"SON OF A BITCH."

He stormed out of the room, followed closely by Jack. Gus stayed still for a while before turning to Jordan, the two men walking back to their monitors. Monty rested his head on his arms, his eyes staring at nothing. Miles and Arryn sat by his side, crestfallen. Michael and Lindsay walked away for some privacy. Everyone had their own way of dealing with defeat.

Ray slowly stepped back before turning around and sitting back with Meg. Ignoring the pain on his right arm as Meg curled up next to him, he rested his head against the wall and tried to stay cool. Meg pulled the covers of them and adopted Ray's posture. She closed her eyes, leaving Ray alone with his thoughts.

A tear rolled down the man's cheek, his body slightly shaking from silent sobs.

_Ryan is dead._


	18. In Which You Definitely Don't Want 'Hot Dog' As Your Last Meal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let's pretend it's january okay? okay.
> 
>  
> 
> you guys.  
> im so sorryyyyyy. It's been nearly a year. Two more months of wait and it would've been a year. The worst part is I wrote the chapter so long ago, it was done, but it was all in French, and I just couldn't do the translation. Dialogues are cool, they're great to write, but everything else is just so terrifying to me. I feel like I'm giving you garbage and after all this wait, it's just even more humiliating. But- i really, really like this story, and I wanna keep going. I got a comment recently, and that gave me enough motivation to keep writing. I read back some of the older chapters and jfc some bits are awkward haha so it's nice to see that I know how I could make things better if I ever wanna rewrite this story. But for now, I'll try to simply write it down, out of my head.
> 
> So I present to you, the newest chapter of Clash of Clans. If everything goes well, there are only 4 chapters left (what.........). I'll try to keep writing, but obviously i can't make any promises. I just wanna thank everyone who ever left a comment : YOUR WORDS MEAN THE WORLD TO ME. It can turn a bad day into a great one in a matter of seconds. And it can give me enough motivation to translate 11 pages in a day wth.
> 
> Enjoy? (i'm too tired to re-read, there are definitely some typos haha) (you can follow me on tumblr @darkspazio ! i'd love to hear from you)
> 
> ***Monty is briefly mentioned, he has two lines.***

The afternoon was nearly over when Geoff finally came back in the room, accompanied by Jack. No one had really talked after his dramatic exit, some mumbling here and there, but everyone mostly kept quiet. Geoff seemed calmer now, Jack had done his work. Ray straightened up as he heard their footsteps approach, and the sudden movement woke Meg up, as she had fallen asleep on the young man's shoulder.

She wiped her eyes with a tired hand as Geoff leaned on a table, his eyes looking kinda empty. Gus turned to him, still at Jordan's side, who was looking through every camera of the city.

"We don't have a lot of options," Geoff finally said. "We know some names and faces, but we don't have a clue how many of them there really is and where Shannon and his men are located. _They_ , on the other hand, know where we are. With Blaine in their ranks, we're vulnerable as dicks. This base isn't safe anymore."

"And the good news?" Michael asked, ironic.

"There's none. We don't have any leads, no clues... There's nothing we can do right now."

Geoff looked up at Ray, seemingly sorry, and the young man finally got what made his boss seem so grim: he felt awful knowing he couldn't help Ray get his promised revenge.

"On the contrary," Gus picked up. "There's too much to do. We don't have anything on them, but that only means we have to search harder, _everywhere_. Jordan's looking at every corner of the city, but he can't possibly register everything he sees. We need people on the field, doing surveillance, ready to attack as soon as we know where they are. We need to take them by surprise."

"So, do we like... take a neighborhood each or...?" Miles asked.

"Yes. Do it in teams, but stay where you're assigned. They can't hide forever, we're bound to stumble onto them..."

"Ray, were there any cameras at Ryan's apartment?"

The man looked over at Geoff, the question taking him by surprise. "Uh, I guess... In the lobby, maybe? You think...?"

"We need copies of the surveillance tapes," Geoff said. "Shannon's guys probably didn't show their faces but... I don't know. I just need to be sure, that's all."

Jordan turned around, an idea on his mind. "I could look at the surveillance cameras in his neighborhood. Maybe there's a car that'll lead to Shannon's base! Where's his apartment at?"

"Atlee Street."

"Would you mind if Jack and I went to take a look?" Geoff wondered.

Ray's throat tightened. Geoff and Jack had never even met Ryan, and now, they were going to go through his stuff, his _life_. It wasn't supposed to be that way, it wasn't supposed to be that way at all...

"Sure, why not," Ray sighed. "It's the third block on the left, red bricks. Fourth floor, seventh door."

"We'll be very respectful of his privacy, and yours, of course," Jack assured. "We just wanna make sure we don't miss anything that could lead us to Shannon. You understand...?"

"Yeah, I get it... Somebody has to do it." Ray sure as hell wasn't going back to that place anytime soon.

"I'll head back downtown, meet up with Gavin and Barbara," Gus said. "We made Dragon Face wait long enough, I'll see what I can get out of him. If he still won't speak, there's no point in keeping him : I'll take care of the body. And hey, maybe he'll feel more like talking when he'll start to slowly bleed out."

"Need any help with that?" Michael asked.

"Nah. I want as much people as we have looking out for those guys in the city," Gus replied. "I want you to patrol the streets until we get something. Anyway, we don't have anywhere safe to go, so better keep moving I guess." Gus turned to Jordan. "You won't be able to stay here much longer, they'll probably send someone to get you..."

"Yeah, I know..." Jordan sighed, defeated. "But I could always work from home... It'll take awhile before I can get through the city's security system from there, but I've done it once - I can do it again. Plus, I have a panic room."

A soft voice spoke up. "And where do I go?"

Everyone turned to Meg, who was looking rather worried. Gavin wasn't even here to take care of her, make sure nothing bad could happen to his girlfriend. He was going to hate himself for it...

"I can take her to my place," Ray suggested.

"What if Blaine gave them your address?" Jack asked.

"Blaine's never been to my place... We can't have her on the streets with us!"

"Can't I go see Gavin?" Meg pleaded.

"I'm not sure he'd agree to let you be in the same building as a dangerous criminal," Monty quietly pointed out.

"She could stay with me," Jordan offered. "Here, I can see people coming way before they get in the building, and she'd be safe once we're at my place."

Monty shrugged, slightly convinced.

"It's our best option," Gus concluded.

"So Jack and I are going to Atlee Street, then we patrol the city."

Miles got up on his feet. "Arryn and I, we can..."

"...get some rest," Gus interrupted him. "You're both hurt, and it won't do us any good if you tire yourselves out. Take the day off, and come back as soon as you can walk without feeling like you're going to puke everywhere. No one wants to clean that shit up."

Miles nodded quietly : it wasn't any use trying to argue with Gus, he knew better by now.

"Lindsay and I can take care of downtown," Michael claimed.

"I'll help you," Ray said. "It's a lot of ground to cover."

"Great."

"I'll take care of the South Area," Monty went on.

"I'll send out Gavin and Barbara to the East side if I don't need them with Shawcross," Gus said. "I'll let you know if I get anything out of him."

"Well, in that case... everyone knows what they're doing?" Geoff asked. "There's no time to lose." He clapped his hands, bringing the meeting to an end. "Call as soon as you have new info."

"And don't try to take on anyone by yourself," Gus warned them, trying to hide his concern behind a stern look. "I don't want any more injuries."

"I feel like this is somehow aimed at me," Miles joked, playfully winking at his boss.

Too tired and bummed out to acknowledge Miles' comment, the crews slowly stirred towards the armory, ready to prepare themselves for a long day of patrolling. Ray turned to Meg, bitter at the thought of leaving her alone.

"You'll be okay?" he asked, concerned.

"Me? Yeah... Jordan's nice, I don't mind hanging out with him," Meg assured him with a faint smile.

"He'll take care of you," Ray promised. "And Gavin should be able to come around soon... For now, it's just too dangerous, you know?"

"Yeah. I understand." Her smile slowly faded away. "Be careful, Ray."

She brought him into a friendly hug, taking the young man by surprise. He awkwardly tapped her shoulder, a nervous smile lifting up the corner of his lips as she stepped away, her eyes warmed by some sort of fondness. Ray mumbled a shy goodbye and hurried to catch up with Michael and Lindsay. As they were picking up weapons easy to conceal (small guns, sharp knives...), Michael glanced briefly at Meg while she stayed behind.

"Is she gonna be alright?" he asked, handing a small gun to Ray.

The young man hid the gun in his back, making sure his shirt was covering it completely. "Yeah... She's not mad at Gavin anymore. And I think she can't wait to tell him. ... She said that... we might do illegal stuff, but we're still good people. Human. We don't kill innocents."

Michael stared at his friend for a while before letting out a small laugh. "Jesus Christ, if she finds out about that convenient store thing..."

Ray smiled a bit, vaguely amused. " _You don’t fucking BLOW UP SHIT just because **you** **thought** the job went too well._ " Yeah, Meg probably wouldn't like that story.

"At least, she's talking."

"Who knows, maybe one day, she'll be part of the gang?" Lindsay joked. "Having ears in a bar, that's always useful. We could turn _The Know_ into some kind of headquarters, since yours is pretty much out of the question... Geoff would like it, with all the available booze!"

"Okay, I said she was good with Gavin being a criminal, doesn't mean she suddenly wants to be part of the mafia and burn Los Santos to the ground."

Lindsay chuckled, mumbling a quiet "I'm just saying..." as the trio stepped out of the building, waving at Geoff and Jack as they walked by them outside. As Michael fumbled in his pockets for his keys, Lindsay leaned towards Ray.

"Are you feeling... less worst?"

The words made Ray feel sick. _About Ryan?_ His heart seemed heavier in his chest, beating harder as he thought about his boyfriend. He shrugged, trying to ignore the shortness of his breath and the tears swelling in his eyes.

"A little, I guess."

"If you ever need to talk about it, just...say the word. I'm here for you-"

"Alright," Ray thanked her, harsher than intended. He added, with a gentler tone : "I'd rather not think about it."

Lindsay nodded, understanding. "The offer will always stand."

"Thanks..."

Ray looked up and locked eyes with Michael. His friend was listening to the exchange with a sad look on his face. He tried to offer Ray a smile and quickly disappeared in the car. Glancing one last time at Lindsay, Ray sat on the backseat, letting out a sigh as he leaned on the headrest.

The pain was bearable, in some kind of unbearable way. The thought of Ryan's death didn't make sense in his head, it simply couldn't be true. The red walls seemed to be straight out of some dream, an awful nightmare Ray couldn't comprehend. It felt so real, he was left breathless. Every time the silence took over, Ryan would invade his thoughts. In his last moment... Did he think about Ray? Did he hate him for abandoning him? Did he have any regrets about them? Did he have dreams he didn't have time to share yet? There you go. More pain.

What made the agony so painful was that it wasn't even enough to kill him. He was forced to feel every second of it, he was forced to feel his heart wrenched, his lungs, his head... It felt like he was chocking, drowning in air. Stuck between those red walls every time he closed his eyes.

The only thing that made his sadness go away was the anger. Then, he could breathe.

He was gonna make them pay. All of them.

Michael opened the radio to break the silence, and they were on their way to the city. Wary of every detail, they patrolled the streets with utmost care, looking at every face, every car. The slightest shady thing could lead them right to Washington, since every thug in the city had the potential to work for Shannon... With all this ground to cover, and all those crooks to interrogate, Gus was right : there was much to do.

But nothing caught their eye. They drove around aimlessly, growing more impatient as the minutes went by. They would be stuck in rush hour at any second now, and the heavy traffic wasn't going to make their mission any easier. After being cut off for the third time on the same street, Michael abruptly stopped the car on the side of the road.

"Those sons of bitches-"

"How about we go on on foot, uh?" Lindsay suggested. "We couldn't get in a car chase if we saw anything anyway with all that traffic jam..."

"And I'm hungry, so let's just...get out of this fucking car and get something to eat," Michael groaned, annoyed.

"We passed by a hot dog stand a few minutes ago."

"Perfect." He turned off the car and glanced at his wife with an amused look on his face. "This is some fine dining. I'm really treating you like a queen."

"It's food Michael, _food_! I'll take a supreme. That'll make me feel like a queen."

She smiled adorably at him and got out of the car, rapidly joined by Michael, and eventually Ray. He would've gave everything in the world to get one last conversation with Ryan. Something as simple as this one. A debate about Godzilla's superpowers. An exposé on Tetris. The definition of a word Ryan couldn't even pronounce right...

Ray's head dropped on his chest, his thoughts made him want to throw up. The pain and the sadness were back at it again, they were taking over his thoughts, he needed a distraction...

"Hey, Ray!"

The young man looked up, realizing he had followed his friends to the hot dog stand without even noticing. Michael was stepping to the side to let his friend order.

"You want anything? It's on me."

Ray shook his head, feeling sick at the thought of eating. "Nah, I'm good."

"Alright..."

"You sure?" Lindsay asked. "Not even something to drink?"

Ray shook his head again and turned around to look at people passing by. Michael paid for his and Lindsay's small dinner, and they went back to their patrolling, on foot this time.

"Damn, those dogs are good..."

"Not as good as Geoff's but...they're up there," Lindsay agreed.

"You can't beat that. Geoff's like...the master chef. Of barbecues."

"I heard Burnie's decent too. They used to fight a lot for the title."

"Burnie never cooks for us. He sucks."

"If he hadn't become a cop, maybe he'd have his own crew right now. We'd have barbecues on the weekends."

"That'd be fucking awesome. ... I didn't think they were as close," Michael admitted. "I knew they were in the same crew at one point, but never thought it was only the four of them. I mean, six if you count Shannon and the other guy... That's like... us. It's like, if Gavin suddenly became a cop and we'd reunite years later when he realizes what a dumb mistake that was."

"Do you think they'll be able to kill Shannon?" Ray suddenly asked.

Michael looked at him, taken by surprise. Ketchup stained the corner of his lips.

"Why wouldn't they be?"

"I don't know... If they used to be this close..."

"But they HATE him."

"Yeah, _now_. But if you went nuts and I'd had to kill you, I don't think I could do it. Not with everything we did together."

Michael slowed down his pace, taken aback by the response. "Dude..."

"Geoff seems closer to Gus and Burnie than Shannon," Lindsay chimed in. "If he was as fucked up as he is now..."

"Geoff is on your side Ray," Michael assured him. "We all are. And we'll do anything it takes to avenge Ryan."

A silly ringtone marked the end of his speech and Ray quickly took out his phone. It was an unknown number.

"Who is it?" Lindsay asked.

"Don't know. ...should I answer?"

"It's only a phone call, can't be dangerous," Michael guessed. "I'll call Jordan, maybe he can trace it."

Ray paused for a moment, unsure about what would happen next, before finally answer his phone. He could risk ignoring the only lead their enemy would voluntarily offer them.

"Hello?"

"Is this Ray?"

It was a loud voice, with a heavy...Russian accent? A really bad Russian accent.

"Who's this?"

"It would seem you have one of our friends in custody."

"Dragon Face?" Ray glanced at Michael. The man shrugged, unable to get a hold of Jordan.

" _Ja._ Dragon Face. I would want you to release him."

"That's a big favor from someone who won't even say who they are."

"Yeah, well, I've got a gun, and it'd be a shame to ruin those hot dogs," the voice said, the accent now completely gone.

Ray looked around, worried, and he felt his heart dropped in his chest as he stared at Lindsay's face. A red dot was set on her forehead.

"GET DOWN!"

He pulled Lindsay to the ground, but the shot already resonated in the distance. Workers and students trying to make their way back home started running and screaming. Michael's voice pierced through the chaos in a powerful uproar.

"LINDSAY!"

He pulled her towards him, hiding them behind a car as Ray crawled to safety near a small truck. The bullet had missed its original target but it had grazed Lindsay on her shoulder. Wincing in pain, she clutched at Michael's arm as she tried to ignore the burning sensation in her arm. Ray's heart was breaking speed records.

"Oops. My finger slipped," the voice said, suddenly remembering the accent.

"You fucking- what do you want?"

"I told you : I want Dragon Face. Now. Or next time, it'll be the head."

The panicked screams and the chaos on the street was making it impossible for Ray to think. His mind went into a spiralling mess, the shot still ringing in his ears.

Red blood on the sidewalk.

Red blood on the walls.

_Not Lindsay, not Lindsay, not Lindsay..._

His hands were shaking, he could feel his whole body vibrate. He couldn't move, stuck inside this skin suit, petrified in this silent stupor. He could feel his heart beat in his head, faster and faster, it was about to explode out of his chest. Michael looked up at Ray, his hand pressed on Lindsay's wound to stop the bleeding.

"What's going on?" he yelled at Ray.

The young man started breathing again, suddenly back to his senses. He could've sworn he was about to die from a heart attack.

"Call Gus," he finally managed to say. "Tell him to let Shawcross go."

"WHAT?"

"If you don't do it, he'll shoot again."

Michael didn't ask any more questions. Furious, he took off his hoodie, replacing his hand with it on Lindsay's wound. He looked around for his phone and found it on the ground where they had been standing seconds earlier. He stretched his arm to get it and two bullets were shot in the pavement.

"SON OF A- Let me take my goddamn phone you fucking idiot!" Michael shouted, raging. He quickly entered Gus' phone number and held Lindsay close to him. "Yeah Gus. It's Michael. ... You need to let Shawcross go. ... I don't care. ... I don't- LINDSAY JUST GOT SHOT AT. Let him leave or we all get fucking killed on the street! ... Yeah, they're talking with Ray."

Michael stayed quiet for a moment before ending the call and throwing his phone back in his pocket. Ray pressed his closer to his ear.

"So?" the voice asked.

"It's done. He's free."

"Good. Have a nice day!"

The communication stopped. Ray lowered his hand and rested his head against the truck's door, closing his eyes so he wouldn't cry. Shannon always was one step ahead of them. They couldn't win. All they could do was trying to keep what they still had left.

Ray opened his eyes and glared at Michael as the young man tried to ease Lindsay's pain. Police sirens echoed in the distance, coming closer at every instant... They had to leave now before getting caught, and served on a silver platter to execution. With Shannon buying cops, they wouldn't survive being stuck in an interrogation room, alone and urnamed.

"Come on," Michael mumbled as he helped Lindsay up. "We'll bring you back home and take care of your shoulder. Is he still there Ray?"

Ray glanced over the truck to look at the other side of the street, carefully observing level of the abandoned building. The sniper was gone.

"No... It was only a warning."

"Son of a- Did you recognize the voice at all?"

"No. He was speaking in a weird accent... Some fake Russian, mixed with German. I don't know..."

"We'll make a quick stop at home, drop Lindsay off, make sure she's okay, and then we'll go back-"

"No," Ray said.

Michael stared at him, baffled. "No?"

"Michael... It's not worth it," Ray sighed. He looked up at him, broken. "Go back home, take care of her... And stay alive, that's all that matters.

"But the surveillance..."

"It's worthless," Ray snapped. "They're watching us, we'll get killed before we can find anything out."

"But-"

"Michael." Ray held the man's gaze, grim. His stare went to Lindsay for a brief second. "Don't lose what you hold dear," Ray simply said.

Michael shook his head, tried to find some argument to convince Ray or himself about their 'mission'. He looked sincerely sad when he couldn't.

"Okay... Are you coming with us?"

"I'll go get Meg."

"With what car?"

"Any car will do." He pointed at the cars left unattended on the road, abandoned by their scared owners.

Michael let out a small laugh, bitter. "And then you come to meet us." It didn't seem negotiable.

"Of course." He turned to Lindsay as she pressed Michael's hoodie against her wound with tears in her eyes. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"What, me? I'm fine. I can barely feel it."

"I'll bring you ice cream on my way back."

"Oh my god, you're an angel."

Ray vaguely smiled. The cops were getting closer to their street. Michael seemed to realize it as well.

"Come on babe, let's go. Or else, they'll bring us in and they'll wait forever before getting you a doctor."

"Be careful Ray."

"I always am."

He offered her another smile, barely managing to hold it on for a few seconds. Ray watched the couple walked away for a moment as they went back to Michael's car before finding himself a ride amongst this new car cemetery. He picked the one the Jones had been hiding behind: a discreet model, beige and boring, perfect to leave somewhat unnoticed, right under the cops' nose. He broke the window with his elbow and quickly got behind the wheel. As he was leaving the street, cops were finally arriving at the scene of the crime, now deserted. Once Ray reached the highway, he felt his phone buzz against his thigh. Gus.

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me why I just let Shawcross leave like a fucking idiot?"

"Someone called me. Someone with Shannon. He nearly shot Lindsay's head off."

"So now we give them what they want, just because they're threatening us? We look like a bunch of pushovers!"

"Gus, no offense, but I don't care about reputation. I don't care about the crews. All I want is for no one else to die. We lost. We have nothing on them, and we won't find anything out. It's just not worth it. I told Michael to get back home, and you should call and tell the others to do the same," Ray suggested. "I'm going back to your headquarters. I'm getting Meg, I'll bring her someplace safe."

"But we can't let Shannon..."

"We don't have a choice: we have **nothing** on him!"

There was no response for a moment.

"I'm sorry Gus... I'm the first in line to kill Shannon, but we gotta face it: it won't happen. He's right, we're not what we used to be, we're just playing a game. Shannon... He's dead serious. We're rusty. And not strong enough to fight him."

There was another silence before Gus finally answered. "I understand." His voice was slightly shaking from anger. He was as pissed as Ray, he didn't want to give up, but he knew they had to if they wanted to protect what they had left. "I'll call the others," Gus went on. "Be careful Ray..."

"Everyone keeps telling me that."

He hung up and threw his phone on the back seat.

He couldn't care less about himself. All he wanted was for no one to never, _ever_ feel what he had to feel. If he could end the whole conflict by shooting himself in the head, he wouldn't even hesitate. If that meant Michael and Lindsay, Geoff and Griffon, Jack and Caiti, Gavin and Meg could live happily ever after, safe from Shannon's dangerous intentions, Ray would blow his fucking brains out in a second.

The trip to RT's base never seemed so long. Ray hoped Jordan wasn't gone with Meg yet. Fortunately, his car was still there when Ray finally arrived. He parked his car in the middle of the yard and quickly got out, making his way to the side door. As he put his hand on the knob, the door flew wide open. Jordan jumped at the sight of Ray, dropping his keys to the ground.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," Ray mumbled.

"It's- It's okay... What are you doing here?" Jordan asked, quickly picking his keys up before slowly getting around Ray.

"I came to pick up Meg. I'm bringing her back to Michael's place. We gave up the surveillance."

"Oh? Well, well... That's...a shame." Jordan seemed anxious to leave. He suddenly straightened, as if he'd just remembered something. "Meg is picking her stuff up in the lounge. I'll leave now if you don't mind, since you're taking care of her."

"Alright... Later, I guess."

"Yeah, see you."

Jordan smiled shyly. He quickly walked over to his car, a ton of paperwork under his arm. Ray stared at him for a second before getting inside, eager to be with Gavin's girlfriend.

"Meg?"

No response. He walked further in the building, to the lounge. The place was still a mess, but there was no one is sight. Meg's stuff was still all over the sofa.

"Meg...?"

Outside, two shots were heard, quickly followed by two more. Adrenaline rushing through his veins, Ray ran back outside, ready to protect Jordan. A cloud of dirt was slowly setting back down as Jordan's car rushed fast past the building. Ray's stolen car was still standing in the middle of the yard. Its tires were all deflated.

"What the-"

Something suddenly clicked in Ray's mind: Jordan's nervousness, his urgent desire to leave, Meg's absence...  That departure. It was a coward's, someone guilty. A traitor.

"Jordan, you son of a bitch."

Gavin was going to lose his fucking mind.


End file.
